


Pause and Resume

by GaleforceFish



Series: College Living [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Bad First Impressions, Growing Relationships, Humor, Kinda, Konoha - Freeform, M/M, Memory Loss, Romance, aggravating situations, because why not, friends make better family, just do it, new kids in town, party hard, slow start, unusual roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2018-10-05 05:59:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 184,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10299182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaleforceFish/pseuds/GaleforceFish
Summary: After tragedy stole his family and memory, Obito was raised away from everything he used to know. He made friends, finished his undergrad years, and decided that it was a good idea to finish college at a separate university alongside those he's known for years. Yet when he moves to Kasai, he finds remnants of his past coming back in ways he would have never expected.





	1. Fun Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Hello~  
> Just a quick explanation that I figured "Land of Fire" was too weird for a city name. Konoha University is located in Kasai (fire) and Iwa University is located in Chikyū (Earth). Thank goodness for google translate.

“The last time I decided to leave my Xbox in the living room, you deleted my save on Skyrim. Do you realize how many hours of my life I dedicated to that game?”

“More than I care to count. I saved your life by helping you realize you didn’t have one.”

Kakashi passed a humored look to his roommate and snickered behind his book. For the past thirty minutes they had been listening to the couple next door moving in and it had been nothing short of amusing. From what Kakashi could tell, it was between a man and woman although he hadn’t felt quite motivated to remove himself from his chair to look out the window. Yamato, on the other hand, was fully embracing the stalker neighbor stereotype as he peeked through the blinds. 

The man outside made an offended noise. “What are you talking about? I participated in more club activities than you did! All you did was sit and watch the rest of us.”

“Clearly you’ve forgotten I was the manager and you wouldn’t have had any matches or practices without me.”

“Flirting with the other teams to establish connections doesn’t count, Konan.”

Their voices faded out as they entered their apartment. This was going to be a long final graduate year if he was going to have to listen to those two bicker every night. At least there was an outdoor hallway to separate their two complexes. Lord have mercy for anyone who lived below them.

Yamato detached from the window and sunk into his recliner. “Should we introduce ourselves or not even bother?”

“I don’t particularly have a death wish, so I’ll wait until another time.” Kakashi decided, flipping the page of his book. He knew first hand not to get between fighting couples thanks to Asuma and Kurenai. It was part of the reason he had decide to move in with Yamato. The younger man was a much quieter roommate.

Slowly the voices of the couple came back into earshot.

“You still like pineapples on pizza, right?”

“And peppers, yeah.”

The man snorted. “What is wrong with your taste buds?”

“They’re unique, Obito, unlike yours which have been destroyed by coffee.”

“Gotta love caffeine.”

Kakashi nearly dropped his book at the name he hadn’t heard in many years. She couldn’t have possibly meant Obito Uchiha, could she? He jumped up from his chair and nearly crushed Yamato as he went for the window. 

The younger man made a muffled sound of complaint and spilled off the side of the recliner. “Dude, what the hell?”

He went ignored as Kakashi attempted to get a glance at the person. Unfortunately, the man had already made it to the other side of the truck and all he saw was a girl with blue hair jumping into the passenger seat. Even the license plate was covered up and the U-Haul was useless as it could have been traveling from anywhere. Damn, maybe he should have gone out to introduce himself.

“Did you see what they looked like?” he asked Yamato, noticing only then his roommate getting to his feet with an annoyed look. 

“The guy had black hair and eyes, probably into the same extracurricular activities as Guy. Girl had blue hair and a piercing in her bottom lip. They sort of look like they’re in some rock band. Why, you know them?” 

“Maybe.” He shrugged, figuring he would meet up with his neighbor later. They had to come back eventually. “I used to know someone named Obito once.”

“What happened to him?”

“He moved away when he was really young. I heard he went to go live with a distant relative after his parents died. For some reason he never reached out with his new address and we fell out of contact.”

Yamato gave his roommate a judging smirk. “What, you guys can’t figure out e-mail or Facebook?”

“We were outside more than we ever were inside. I didn’t have Facebook until I entered high school. Even then I couldn’t find him though.”

“No wonder you’re not technologically savvy.”

“Shut up, nature boy.” Oh God, now they were beginning to sound like their new neighbors. He quickly changed the subject. “Want to go buy school books?”

“No…” Yamato sighed but ended up grabbing his wallet from their small island that connected their dining area to their kitchen. 

They got into Kakashi’s car and headed towards their shared school: Konoha University. Kakashi was a graduate student in his third and final year for veterinary school while Yamato was a senior undergrad in engineering. They had met each other in a shared required English class very early on and maintained a friendship ever since. Yamato had been less of an annoying freshman than his peers which had drawn Kakashi to him. Neither one particularly cared to have a crazy college life nor spend their time with their nose in their studies. 

Yamato was messing with his phone in the passenger seat, no doubt killing his data plan to scroll through Imgur. He was constantly sending funny pictures to their group chat, most being memes or cute pictures of cats. Judging from the smile plastered to his face, he had seen something particularly good and was doing his best to keep it quiet. 

Rather than making an inquiry to what he was looking at, Kakashi zoned out to the area around them. The university was one of the largest ones around and was surrounded by many shops from their city. Everything around them was fitted to the image of college town. Despite being near many community colleges or universities, the only ones that posed a challenge was the four other major schools: Suna, Iwa, Kiri, and Kumo. Most of the time is was Konoha versus Suna, but occasionally the other universities surprised them. 

Kakashi used to be on the university’s fencing team, but quit back when he started grad school. As much fun as it was to poke someone with a flimsy sword, he had wanted to focus on his studies and have more free time to volunteer at the local animal shelter. Yamato wasn’t in any sports but kept to clubs. Asuma had been on the football team and now acted as one of the athletic coach assistants, Kurenai on the volleyball team, and Guy the track team and wrestling enthusiast.   
Between all of them, there were plenty of events to attend. 

A small ring notification broke the silence of the car and Kakashi reached for his phone only to have it swatted away. “Focus on the road.”

Kakashi eyed his roommate. “I’m going less than twenty miles an hour. What could I possibly hit?”

“I don’t know, a quad squirrel.” Yamato lifted the phone and checked the name. “It’s from Rin. She wants to know if we want to go to the Slug bar.”

A nursing student, Rin had been Kakashi’s friend since very early childhood just like Obito. The three of them had been kids in the same neighborhood and were inseparable up until the moment Obito moved. He and Rin still hung out after, but it hadn’t quite been the same. That was around the time they met Kurenai, Asuma, and Guy. 

“Isn’t that the new bar downtown?”

Yamato nodded. “Yeah, the one that a doctor owns. Isn’t that a little strange that a doctor is also in charge of a bar?”

“Her husband technically runs it.” Kakashi corrected him. 

Everyone who had lived there long enough came to know Tsunade. She was the most dedicated doctors, but also a known gambler. It was a strange combination, but her track record was so incredible that the people she worked for always turned the other way. At least until she trashed the local bar a few weeks ago. In return she bought the building and set up her own bar so she could kick out anyone who annoyed her. It was a strange turn of events that had all the long time locals laughing. A few weeks ago had been opening night, but Kakashi and their friends had yet to visit.

He gave Yamato the go ahead with a shrug. “Sure, although I might not stay long.”

Yamato groaned in complaint beside him. “School only just started. What homework could you possibly have already?”

“A job.” He often volunteered at a vet hospital and was hoping to get hired there. Things were looking good and he even had a worker there putting in good words for him. 

The younger man mumbled something about it not being a real job yet but clicked away on Kakashi’s phone regardless. Kakashi made a mental note to change his password later. All he needed was for Yamato to go through his search history.

They pulled into the university store a few minute later and got their books. Yamato had thicker books with supplies for construction planning while Kakashi had merely one or two. Watching Yamato struggle with his bags turned into a game for Kakashi has he pulled one down when Yamato was least expecting it, throwing his balance off. He almost managed to get Yamato to nail a pole but was thwarted when Yamato did a spin move, nailing him instead in the stomach with one of the bags. Kakashi rubbed his belly with a hurt look. Yamato ignored him, leading the way back to the car to toss them all in the trunk. The lack of reserve for knowledge this kid had… 

 

“You’re way too overdressed.” Konan sighed, crossing her arms. “Why don’t you put on something more casual?”

Obito looked down to the clothes he was wearing. Nice jeans and a button up black shirt. It wasn’t like he was dressed up to go to some five star restaurant. “What’s wrong with it?”

Konan grabbed at the black fabric. “This isn’t a shirt you want to stain with alcohol. Go put on another shirt.”

“But I like this one.” He objected, removing her hand and straightening his shirt. “Plus, today is Mrs. Tsunade’s birthday and she wanted us to help her celebrate it. I wanted to look nice.”

His blue haired roommate looked less convinced. “You’ve been working with her for only a few weeks and you’re her favorite employee. You hardly need to impress her further.”

“It’s not to impress her.” Which wasn’t entirely true. He wanted to show his boss that he was making an effort on her behalf. She was so willing to hire him after one interview where he made a random drink for her. From then she had been very pleasant and helpful, even suggesting places for him, Konan, and the rest of their group to live.

Just two weeks ago, he and a handful of other friends from Iwa had transferred to Konoha. For some it had been an educational decision, others a job opportunity, and the rest a change of scenery. For Obito it was the latter. He and his friends had been inseparable since high school and college, and moving together felt natural. However, all of them crashing at Kakuzu’s place was hell. Despite being considerably wealthy, the man was exceptionally stingy and often complained that his rather large house was too cramped. When Tsunade found them connections to an apartment complex near the university Obito would be attending, it had been a godsend. He owed her a lot, so if what Konan said was true and he was a favorited employee, he was going to ensure it stayed that way. 

Obito shuffled past his roommate and rummaged the living room for his shoes. “Don’t worry, _mom_ , I’ll be careful with my drinks.”

She huffed at him, placing her hands on her hips in a mockingly motherly way. “It’s not you that I’m worried about, _dear_ , but you go right on ahead and do whatever you want.”

“Does that include cake for dinner?”

She broke a smile and shook her head at his impossible personality. They had been like this forever and picking fun at each other was so second nature. That, and she never took it personally. Of all their friends, she was the easiest to get along with. Originally she was supposed to room with Nagato, but their friend had decided to room with Itachi instead so he could focus on his studies. Something along the lines that Konan made too many livestreams, which is why Obito offered his place. More fun to room with a fellow gamer than a cousin anyway. Likewise, Deidara roomed with Zetsu, a flamboyant straight man and an asexual former drug addict was a hilarious pair that everyone but the included parties were happy with. Sasori roomed with Hidan and would constantly discuss the difference between regular art and the cult symbols that Hidan was obsessed with. Kisame owned his own house a few miles away, closer to the ocean, and Hidan was in the middle of the city. 

Grabbing his keys, he twirled them around his finger and cast a backwards glance. “Are you going to show up tonight?”

She shrugged. “That depends on whether or not I can pull Nagato from his apartment. Itachi texted me saying that he was obsessing over the order of his bookshelf.”

In other words, the man might never leave his room. What an introvert. 

“Good luck with that.” He offered then made his exit. 

He had returned the U-Haul earlier that day and went out for pizza with the others. Having everyone settle in nicely was good to see, but it still wasn’t without difficulties. For starters, Obito and Kisame were the only ones with trucks meaning they were everyones taxis for what they couldn’t hold in their own cars. That hadn’t been a fun drive, and Konan’s taste in music made Obito wonder why she was trying to become an artist rather than a mortician. Or serial killer. How many songs did she know that basically said ‘fuck the world’?

Kasai city wasn’t the largest in terms of largest buildings, that was a claim that Chikyū city, but it was the broadest. All the comforts of home with all the business of a city. That also meant traffic ran more smoothly in Kasai and instead of taking thirty minutes to get from point A to point B, it took only around ten. Obito was already liking the change.

He parked in the back to avoid the possibility of drunk drivers and entered through the kitchens. Dan was prepping burgers and other assorted finger foods when he caught sight of Obito entering. “You look nice.”

Dan, too, was wearing a button up shirt although his was a dark green. At least that was one person who wasn’t going to start insulting his fashion sense.

“My roommate seems to think I was too fancy. Good to know I’m not the only one who disagrees.”

Dan offered a warm laugh. “At least I’m not in danger of alcohol.”

Obito could groan. Maybe he was too quick to assume Dan would be on his side. “Nor I of grease.”

“Touché.”

He left the manager to his task and made his way through the kitchen doors to the front. The bar was already busy with Tsunade and her friends along with a mix of other customers. TVs lined the wall in a mix of sports and the pool tables surrounded by people making bets. Obito quickly came aware of Tsunade’s bad luck in gambling and wisely kept his business out. The last thing he needed was to bet against his boss and give her any reason to be upset with him. 

As soon as Anko saw him, she reached for her apron and tossed it at him. “Finally, I can leave!”

Bewildered, he caught it before it could smack his face. “Bad night?”

“No,” she all but jumped over the latch that closed the bar and made for the exit. “The dango shop closes soon and I wanted to get there before it did. Clock me out, would you?” 

She was out the door without another word. Funny how she managed not to have a dust trail behind her. Honestly, how was that woman so thin when all she ate was sweets?

Still Obito complied to her request and entered behind the counter, punching in her code and signing her out before replacing it with his own. 

The beginning of his shift ran smoothly. One or two people decided to stick around the bar but many were drawn to the party that Tsunade was throwing. She didn’t care who surrounded her, so long as they kept the party going. Occasionally Dan would come out to talk with his wife and ensure she was okay before returning to the kitchen. Obito appreciated how patient he was instead of being the jealous husband he could have been.

Bee, one of their bouncers, checked in every hour minutes to make sure no one was causing trouble, but Obito didn’t miss the longing look he passed the party. Worse was when he realized they were setting up karaoke and made a joke about joining them. Somehow Obito wondered if he was serious or not, but Bee made his way outside quickly before the first song started. Maybe the man should make a mixtape or something. 

Around ten, a group of drunken frat boys came in looking like trouble although so far presenting none. Obito caught Bee’s warning eye and offered a slight nod. Keep an eye on them. The group didn’t immediately go to the party, although judging from their loud whispers they were bound to make a move that way sometime during the night. 

Obito drew their attention by placing a cup on the bar more loudly than he usually would have. “What can I get you?”

The one he assumed was their self-proclaimed leader turned a lazy look his direction. “Whatever you have on tap.”

“ID?”

The woman leaned over the counter, “Do we look under 21 to you?”

Obito leaned right back, offering his best work smile. “Would you like me to answer honestly or professionally?”

She scowled at him but the man to her side laughed out loud. “Got you there, Ameyuri.”

“Shut the hell up, Raiga.”

Their leader flipped his wallet out and placed his ID on the counter. So he was the same age as Obito then. “What’s going on over there?”

Obito checked their IDs in turn, ensuring they were all legal, before passing them back and moving to the taps. “Boss’s birthday party.”

“That alcoholic doctor? Is she ever sober?”

The woman named Ameyuri laughed. “I heard she’s scared of blood. Maybe she drinks to forget someone she let die in the past.”

A man with a scar on his left cheek sighed as if pained. “How does someone like that become a doctor?”

“Maybe she sleeps with her boss?”

Obito placed their drinks before them with a calm he didn’t feel. Who walked into a bar just to badmouth the owner? “Kindly refrain from insulting Mrs. Tsunade in front of her employees. We don’t take kindly to it.” Strike one. 

One of them looked like he was about to retort but their boss elbowed him. “Shut up, Kushimaru. Don’t get kicked out before you even finish your drink.”

Were they barhopping? Obito grabbed the rag from his waist apron and moved down the bar slightly to clean a spot he had just cleaned just a few moments before. He had no interest in listening to their conversation further, but he also wanted to stay close enough in case they started acting up. Hopefully they would enjoy a few drinks, pay, and leave. Dealing with rowdy people had never really been Obito preferred way to spend the night, he would much rather leave that to Bee. 

As he moved further down the counter, he realized someone standing in the middle of the room just a few steps inside the doorway. It was a brunet girl with a look that said she had learned something and was impatient to share. Obito regarded her curiously before casting his attention back to the counter. Strange girl.

“Obito?” Her voice was breathless. 

Obito turned back to her, raising an eyebrow. “Do I know you?”

“It’s me!” she ran up, almost propping herself up against the counter in an excitement that was making him weary. “It’s Rin. Don’t you remember me?”

Obito tried to remember, but nothing came to mind. Completely blank. “I think you’ve got me confused with someone else.” He tried to tell her, but she just shook her head in denial.

“There’s no way I’d forget you. You, me, and Kakashi are long time friends! Oh my gosh, stay here, I’m going to go get him!” she flew away as fast as she came. 

Stay here? He worked here. There was no way he was leaving until his shift was over. He ventured away from that corner of the bar back towards the frat guys and their female friend. The one with the scar shoved his cup roughly in Obito’s direction. “Yo, Barkeep, got anything stronger?”

“Sure.” He took the cup and rinsed it slightly before getting a different tap. By the time he passed out the new drinks and turned back towards where the girl vanished, she had been joined by others. Two were obviously a couple, a hand around the waist and the close proximity gave that away, one was dark haired and looking around skeptically, and the last was a silver haired man looking at him just as awestruck as Rin had. This, he assumed, must be Kakashi. 

Obito sighed, realizing that he didn’t recognize this guy either. “Look, I’ve already told your friend that I don’t know her. You must have me mistaken for someone else.”

Rin wasn’t hearing it, nudging her friend. “He looks just like him, does he?”

Feeling slightly annoyed, he turned his attention past the girl and her silent friend towards the couple and skeptic. “There are open tables just a little further in that will hold your group. It’ll be close to Mrs. Tsunade’s party, so I hope you don’t mind it being a little loud.”

“Thanks,” the long haired woman said, grabbing her boyfriend and heading in the direction that Obito had pointed. The skeptic took a step forward, glancing sideways at his friend as if he was just as confused as Obito was, before stating, “I recognize you from earlier this morning. You’re moving into 329 at Shukuba Apartments, right? Me and the gaping idiot behind me are your neighbors. My name’s Yamato.”

At his words, Kakashi blinked and seemed to come to his senses. “I am not an idiot.”

Obito shared a doubtful glance with the man who had spoken. “Uchiha Obito.” 

“I knew it!” the girl bounced happily. “You are the Obito we grew up with!”

Alright, time to stop this before things got weird. “I’ve already told you, I have no idea who you are.” He flipped the rag lazily over his shoulder. “If we’re done with this awkward meeting, let me know if there’s anything I can get you.”

The one named Rin finally seemed to realize that he was serious and her grin faltered. Part of Obito felt bad, but he really didn’t like people to push their delusions on him and pretend they knew him. Turning away from them as Yamato herded Rin away, he made his way back down to the other side of the counter. The group seemed to be getting ready to get up and head to Tsunade when the girl saw him. 

“Do you have anything here that doesn’t taste like shit?” she taunted.

Obito refused to take the bait. “It’s alcohol. It all tastes like shit.”

Her laugh sounded more like a crackle. “That’s not something someone in your position should be saying. How will you sell things to customers?”

“Easy. You order, I provide, you pay. I don’t have to like what I serve.”

Their leaders glass suddenly fell over, and although Obito didn’t see it carefully enough he was sure the man did it on purpose. Sticky liquid covered the corner of the counter, dripping over the side and onto the floor. 

Ameyuri leaned back on her high horse. “Whoa, Zabuza, that almost got on me.”

“Oops.” The man offered, not sorry at all. He was pinning Obito with a lethal look that said he was itching for a fight. 

Calling forth a calm he didn’t feel, Obito forced a smile to his features once more. “No worries. I’ll get it.” 

He somehow managed to avoid insulting the customer under his breath as he relocated the cup and began cleaning the mess. Soon they would get tired that they weren’t getting to him and leave. Most of it he was able to clean up, but the floor was going to need to be mopped for sure. When he got up, he realized all of the group was giving him obnoxious looks that made him very uncomfortable. 

“Well?” Zabuza asked.

Obito raised an eyebrow. “Well, what?”

“Replace my drink.”

Lord stay Obito’s rising temper. “Order a new one.” 

The standoff they were having left so much tension in the room it could have been cut with a knife. In no way was Obito obligated to replace a drink once handed off to a customer, and he had no intention of replacing it unless asked nicely. He was no one’s errand boy and rude customers would be treated in kind. Serving assholes may be in his job description, but his pride refused to back down to those who treated him like some sort of servant and their beck and call. 

Finally, without turning away, Zabuza stood and directed his freak squad, “We’re leaving. This place smells like trash anyway.”

Refusing to make the comment that the trash was taking itself out, Obito pointed to their half empty glasses. “And those aren’t free. So unless you want to cause a scene, I suggest you pay on your way out.”

Finally, Zabuza looked down at the glasses, picking one up and looking at it like some sort of critic with a piece of art. “How about I give it back instead?”  
The next thing Obito knew, the glass was flying at his face. He expected trouble, but he hadn’t expected that. Stupid, in hindsight, since the guy was clearly drunk and asking for trouble. The glass shattered against the side of his head before he could block it, but in the next instant he found himself jumping the counter and going after his assaulter. He only managed to get one good hit in before hands were around him and pulling him back. Likewise, Zabuza was being pulled away by his laughing cronies. 

“What’s going on?” Tsunade came thundering over but hardly waited for a response before she ordered, “Bee, get these brats out of my bar and mark their names.”

“As if we’re going to hand them over.” Zabuza’s friend snarled, shoving past Bee towards the door. 

Obito pulled at the grip of whoever was holding him. “You already showed me your ID, asshole.”

Zabuza flipped him off before exiting. 

Tsunade turned on her employee, but her anger had subsided slightly. He didn’t realize why until she placed a hand to the side of his head and withdrew to show red. “What happened?”

“Bar hopping drunks.” He answered just as the hands holding him let go. Obito cast a backwards glance to see Kakashi standing there with a worried look, his eyes on Obito’s injury that had yet to start hurting thanks to the adrenaline pumping through him. Did he really look bad? “Sorry, Mrs. Tsunade. I’ll just wash this off and be back on the floor in just a moment.”

She grabbed his arm as he took a step for the bathroom. “Ask Dan for bandages and if you feel light headed at all, let me know and we’ll call Anko back.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He was still seething as he moved from the view of their gathered audience. Looks like Konan was right about getting alcohol on his shirt after all. Damn, he really liked this shirt. 

Dan was already at the door, having observed everything at the last moment, and handed him a first aid kit on his way to the bathroom so he didn’t have to enter the kitchen. Obito could only imagine all the sanitary rules that would have been breaking. 

Once in the bathroom, he set the box on the counter and put his entire head under the sink. He felt a slight pinch on his left temple, but it wasn’t terrible. He checked to make sure no glass found its way under the skin then sighed, enjoying the cool water. Already the voice of Konan was ringing through his mind as she laughed at how he had only started worked here and already was caught up in a fight. This was like high school all over again.

“Need some help?”

The voice caught him off guard and he jumped, smacking his head on the faucet. Forcefully slowing himself, he shut it off and rose his head to look in the mirror. The same guy who had held him back just moments before was standing behind him with a slightly guilty look. Water dripping onto his already wet shirt reminded him that he should probably clean that too while he was in here. 

“No.” Obito unbuttoned the shirt by two then pulled the entire thing over his head, tossing it into the second sink and letting water run over the collar. He pulled back his hair, observing the cut now that it had been rinsed off. It wasn’t that bad, but head injuries tended to bleed a lot. Great. Before it could start going again, he put a slightly damp paper towel against it and reached for the med kit. 

Kakashi managed to get to it before him and pulled it out of reach. Obito glared at him. “I said no.”

“I heard you.”

Prick.

Still, Obito didn’t stop him as he rummaged around trying to find the alcohol wipes and bandages. Now that he wasn’t observing a self-proclaimed awestruck long lost friend, he found Kakashi to be a very attractive person. He was very relaxed, not over excited like Rin had been and thankfully not pressing him to remember something he couldn’t. If they hadn’t met in such a strange way just a few moments earlier, Obito might have entertained the idea of flirting with him.

Kakashi removed the needed materials then faced Obito fully. “If you could hold your hair out of the way, that would be helpful.”

Frowning slightly, Obito complied. He wasn’t used to random acts of kindness and surely not from people he had so easily dismissed. People of Kasai were much more friendly than Chikyū. “Why aren’t you with your friends?”

Obito winced as the wipe was lightly pressed against the injury, causing it to sting again. Well, at least he could go into school looking like a badass. Or a dumbass. Whatever, he didn’t care.

The man before him offered a small smile. “Am I not?”

Obito could feel his temper coming back. “I thought I told you-.”

“That you don’t remember, I know.” Kakashi checked the injury again then replaced the wipe. “So tell me, where did you go to elementary school?”

“Academy.”

The smile widened. “What a coincidence. Me too.”

Obito could see what he was trying to do. In all honesty, he had no memories of his life before the car accident he was in with his parents the night of their death. When he woke up in the hospital, he was greeted by a surly looking man claiming to be his uncle stating that they were to live in Chikyū city. He had been told he had lived in Kasai in the past, but that he had been an introverted child and didn’t have any friends. Given that no one had reached out to him, he had accepted that as truth.

Which was precisely why he didn’t need to get caught up in this. He didn’t need false friends entering his life.

He reached past the man for the bandages and pulled away from Kakashi’s care to tend to himself. “I can handle this myself, thanks.”

Kakashi remained silent despite being dismissed for the second time this night. He had to admit, the man before him was the spitting image of the Obito he knew and even contained the same name. It really seemed like his childhood friend was trying to pretend their friendship didn’t exist. There was no way Obito would have forgotten him. Not in a million years. Even more so to brush him off so easily.

He refused to believe the person before him was anyone different than the kid he used to know. “Have I done something to offend you?”

It was obvious Obito was about to snap at him by the way his jaw stiffened. Instead the bartender opted to ignore him as he placed some heavy duty Band-Aids against his head. 

“You’re putting that on a little off.”

“If I wanted your medical opinion, I would have asked for it.” Obito tossed the useless paper into the trash and weaved around the other man to retrieve his shirt to place it beneath the hand dryer. 

Kakashi clearly wasn’t through with him, relocating to stand next to the loud machine. “Why are you so insistent that we don’t know each other? The Obito I knew had always acted warmly towards everyone regardless of whether he knew them or not.”

“Maybe because I’m not the one you know.” Obito offered, flipping his shirt. He was basically willing the shirt to dry faster so he could get back to the bar and away from this guy. No matter how attractive he was, Obito didn’t like clingy people.

Kakashi’s head tilted as he thought. “Well, my childhood friend lost important family to a devastating car crash. After that he moved to live with-.”

He was cut off when Obito’s fist balled into his shirt and shoved him forcefully against the wall of the bathroom. The amount of fury on his face was like a virtual slap to Kakashi. Clearly he had stepped on a nerve in his attempt to get a reaction. 

Obito clenched his damp shirt tightly to avoid throwing a second punch for the night. “Stay the fuck away from me.” He said through gritted teeth. He released Kakashi and left the bathroom, clothing himself in the still slightly damp shirt. 

Kakashi mentally scolded himself, knowing he should have said something else. He had expected Obito to be surprised or of guard, but not mad. The death of his parents had been an accident and in no way was his fault, so he would even suspect Obito to be sad. But anger? There was no reason that emotion should have been present to such a degree. Unless he felt like Kakashi was overstepping his bounds, which wasn’t entirely out of the question.

He looked towards the door Obito had gone through and sighed. He probably wouldn’t accept an apology right now either, and he hardly needed to get him in trouble by looking like he was picking a fight. 

Straightening the folds in his shirt, he slipped the first aid box in the corner under the sink and exited the bathroom. Finding Rin and the others would be the best course of action right now, but he still couldn’t help but cast a glance towards the bar. 

Instead of finding his childhood friend furiously cleaning something, he was greeted with the smiling face the was so unmistakably Obito. Yet instead of being directed at him, it was towards a blue haired girl and red haired man. He felt his heart clench slightly, feeling as if he was easily replaced. He and Obito had been so close in the childhood, although always rivals, but he never expected to be so easily brushed aside. After all the history they shared, it would have been impossible for the Obito he knew to turn a blind eye or deaf ear in his or Rin’s direction. Did this Obito really not remember him at all?

Turning from the image, Kakashi entered the back room where his group had begun mingling with Tsunade’s. Once the doctor saw him, she b-lined straight for him. “Kakashi, right? If it’s not too much trouble, I was wondering if you could tell me what happened earlier.”

It was shocking to see her coming to him rather than Obito, but she might have gotten the feeling that her employee was only going to brush it off again like earlier. 

“It’s really just what Obito said. A bunch of jerks looking for trouble. If anything, he stopped them from messing up your party.”

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temple. “Really, that child.”

“Ma’am?”

She shook her head and waved away her emotions. “He’s been dealing with pests that have been questioning my decision to open this bar. For someone so new to the city, he sure makes an effort to look out for his co-workers. Even yesterday he stepped in for a cook who called in sick when we were low on staff rather than going apartment hunting with his friends.”

That sounded exactly like the kid he used to know and Kakashi couldn’t help but cast a glance back at the Uchiha. He had since gotten a mop to clean the mess Zabuza made while his friends tossed wadded up paper at him. He responded by flicking soap water at them, completely comfortable with their teasing. 

“May I ask you a professional question?” Kakashi asked, turning respectfully back. When he was answered with a nod, he continued, “How do you bring back repressed memories?”

Tsunade looked between him and Obito and frowned. “I would suggest you leave Obito’s past memories alone, kid. If memories are repressed, there’s generally a good reason.”

“How did you know I was talking about Obito?”

She laughed him in such a way that made him feel like a child. “Please, between your female friend over there blabbing about how her best friend forgot her and the fact that I have to know the medical background of my employees, and no to mention the fact that I’m not blind to the fact that you look like a lost puppy right now, it’s not that hard to figure out.”

Kakashi felt like an idiot. He didn’t realize it had been that obvious. That and he should have known better. Tsunade was a doctor and could easily get her hands on the records of her employees. 

Still, Tsunade patted him on the shoulder. “You can try and bring him to places of his childhood or you can make him experience a great shock. Or you could just befriend him again and make new memories. People can change their behaviors and their habits, but they can’t change who they really are. If you two were friends before, then you will be again.”

It was a comforting notion, but after their most recent interaction he was sure Obito wanted nothing to do with him. He sighed, feeling even dumber than Guy on his science tests.


	2. Slight Enlightenment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters might be released quickly for now as I've already written out the first nine. Going through them for errors is the only think keeping me from posting them all now. Still working on improving some scenes, but glad to see so far the opening chapter has been met with love :) Enjoy~

“I told you I’m not gonna do it, so I’m not gonna.” Obito all but pouted, ignoring the woman draping across his back trying to swat the game controller from his hand. “If you feel so strongly about it, you do it.”

Konan managed to smack his arm, sending his character jolting to the left and directly into the path of an exploding enemy. “Pause your game and come with me.”

“It’s online, it doesn’t pause.” He dodge-rolled away, taking minimal damage. “Go by yourself.”

She smacked him again, this time causing him to misfire and almost hit his allies. “You’re the one who acted like an asshole.”

His lips tightened in slight disagreement. She was half right, but in some way he felt justified by it. “Go away, I’m busy.”

He heard her sigh and relaxed a degree, feeling as if he won. Then before he realized what her intentions were, she jumped the couch and pressed the power button to his Xbox. He gave her an appalled stare. “What the actual fuck, Konan?”

She returned with a victorious smile. “Now you’re not busy anymore, let’s go.” Grabbing his wrist, she hauled him up and pulled him towards the door.

 

Kakashi had been setting up his Fall schedule up on his calendar when he heard a knock on his apartment door. Yamato’s head appeared from outside his doorway, looking across the apartment at Kakashi and then the other way towards their hallway leading to the front door. “Did you have someone coming over?”

“No.” Kakashi answered, getting up. Yamato followed him, leaning against the couch to watch from a safe distance in case it was a solicitor. 

When Kakashi pulled the door open, he was greeted with a friendly looking female neighbor and a surly looking male neighbor who was staring at something Kakashi couldn’t see off to the side.

“Hey, you guys doing anything tomorrow?” Konan asked. 

Kakashi looked from one neighbor to the other then back at Yamato. “I don’t, do you?”

Yamato shook his head. “Not really.”

“Good, then you guys can go to the beach with us.”

Obito frowned at his roommate, crossing his arms. “That’s telling them, Konan, not asking.”

“Well, they said they weren’t busy.” She retorted, slapping him in the chest with an audible smack. “So you guys are going, right? And you can invite your other friends that were at the bar with you a few nights back. The more the merrier.”

Despite her friendly exterior, Kakashi couldn’t help but find his eyes straying to her shadow. “You sure that’s alright?”

Finally, Obito looked at him with an emotion Kakashi couldn’t read then glanced away and shrugged. Konan groaned. “Destiny will still be there when you go and turn your Xbox on again, Obito, stop your pouting.”

“Screw you, I’m not pouting.” He glanced back at Kakashi. “Wipe that smirk of your face. At least your roommate doesn’t shut off your system while you’re on an online mission that takes literal hours to complete.”

Amused, Kakashi gave a laugh, “Yamato did ruin one of my favorite books once by spilling his nasty health shake on it once. It was a Collectors edition.”

“Once!” Yamato crossed his arms. “And I got you a new one, so stop holding that against me.”

Obito’s lip twitched as if he were about to smile but he quickly hid it and turned back to their apartment. “We’re leaving at nine so we can reach our friend’s beach house.” He was back inside his own apartment again before Kakashi could reiterate his question of whether he was truly okay with it. They had gotten into a disagreement only just the other night. Was it alright to initiate a hangout when their last meeting didn't end well?

“Beach house?” Kakashi asked, turning his mind to the fancy houses he had seen before. “You know someone who owns one?”

“We know two, actually. We’ll be back by eleven or twelve tomorrow night. If you guys are okay with that, we can all carpool there in Obito’s truck.” Konan answered.

Yamato was suddenly at the door, very interested. “Should we bring anything?”

Konan laughed at his eagerness. “Just yourself, a change of clothes, a towel, and whatever else you think you’ll need. One of our friends is supplying food and entertainment.”

“We can cover some stuff.” Yamato offered, but Konan waved it away.

“Our friend with the beach house, his name is Kisame by the way, has plenty of stuff at his house to keep us entertained. Our other friend, Kakuzu, is a banker and paying for a few hotdogs and burgers that will hardly put a dent in his paycheck. Don’t worry about it, we mooch off him all the time. You should have been there when he had eight guests in his house stealing all his food.”

Well it was good to see that Obito had made such well-connected friends. Those houses weren't cheap by any means. “How did you meet people like that? College?”

“A few yeah, and some even earlier than that. Really we all just have similar interests and connected that way. We have three other apartments in this place that are owned by friends of ours. You may have heard of one of them since he’s Obito’s cousin. His name is Itachi.”

If Yamato didn’t recognize the name, Kakashi did. He had met Itachi once when visiting Obito as kids. Yet Itachi’s parents lived in Kasai as well, which mean that he had been studying away from home. The Uchiha’s must be a very successful family to be able to send their kids to far off universities. 

For Konan to think that Kakashi knew of him must have meant that Obito told her what happened the other night. She could be trying to reunite them as friends. Remembering what Tsunade had told him, Kakashi was willing to take this opportunity.

Yamato’s shoulders slumped. “Him? The guys a freaking genius and everyone from my class knows him since our schools face off a lot.” 

“Try not to say that to his face. The last thing we need is for his calm mind to grow an ego.” She mused over the mental image that thought presented when she noticed Kakashi zoning out as he leaned against the door frame. “Got something on your mind?”

Kakashi started, not realizing he had been staring at where Obito had left. “Not really.”

Konan wasn’t convinced, her womanly intuition catching on quick. “You know if you want to just go over you can. If you’re worried about him being pissed off or against any of this, I can assure you that he’s not.”

“That’s alright.” As much as he wanted to, he wasn’t going to push his luck. He and Obito used to spend a lot of time challenging each other to games during days where the weather had taken a turn for the worst. He remembered a time Obito had brought over all his handheld games to Kakashi’s house when he had learned Kakashi had the flu. Sakumo refused to let him into Kakashi’s room, not wanting to get the child sick. So Obito sat outside the room and tossed games into the room, wearing a face mask that did nothing to hide his grin. 

Before Konan had a chance to try and convince him otherwise, Kakashi made his way back to his room and left Yamato to sort the details. He could spend the time finishing his scheduling. 

 

“Dear God, woman, put on a shirt.” Obito did a full U-turn from the living room back into his room. Konan decided that suddenly changing in her room was overrated and that Obito could use an eyeful of her trying to adjust her swim top. 

She laughed as he nearly smacked against the doorframe. “What do you even care? You’re gay.”

“Bi.” He corrected her, deciding just then to retie his shoes. Who knew there were so many ways to tie laces together?

He heard her scoff behind him. “I haven't seen you date a girl since middle school.”

And that was enough reason to assume that he wasn’t attracted to them? Her logic when it came to him was very trying. “It may surprise you, but I don’t always share my sex life with you.”

“Yeah, yeah, well it’s not like it’s anything you haven’t seen before.”

“Develop some modesty.” 

“You’re not fun, Obito.” She mocked him.

He glared at her over his shoulder. Her personality must be warped from hanging around nothing but guys all the time. Thank God they had convinced that girl Rin and her friend to show up; Konan might actually learn a thing or two from her. “I should go and open the windows. All of them.”

“I dare you.” She smirked back, but relented and put a shirt on with amused features. Obito sighed, slipping their shared bag over his shoulder. 

When he made sure Konan had a shirt on, well a crop top counted as at least half a shirt, they exited their apartment. Kakashi was sitting on the last of the staircase with Yamato standing in front of him, grinning up at them as they came down. Rather than wait for Kakashi to stand up, Obito jumped the railing and took up the lead. 

“Show off.” Konan muttered, falling into step with the boys. 

Obito didn’t bother to retort as he jumped into his car. Arguing with her was useless , and he was still getting the image of her changing out of his mind. She was extremely attractive and Obito hadn’t lied when he said he was attracted to women, but sometimes it was hard to remember she was just a friend. The way they acted, often times people mistook them for a couple.

Luckily his distraction came in the form of a silver haired man jumping into the passenger seat. Obito gave him a confused frown then looked out the back window of his truck to see Yamato and Konan crawling into the bed. 

“She insisted I sit here as your navigator.” Kakashi explained, somewhat nervously. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was running through his mind. Their last meeting hadn’t ended on the best of terms. 

Damnit, Konan. She knew exactly the kind of people who were his type too and probably saw this as a great chance. She needed to quit trying to play match maker and work on finding her own prince charming. “If you play anything by someone who was a former Disney or Nickelodeon star, I’m kicking you out.” Obito promised, handing the aux cord over. 

“Nickelback it is.” Kakashi determined, pulling his phone out to hook it up. He then laughed at the reluctant look he received and added, “Just kidding.”

A knock on his window pulled his attention away and Obito turned to see a beaming blonde staring at him. He rolled it down. “Zetsu wants to know if you want him to follow you in his car to make sure and hit anyone stupid enough to fall out of the back of your truck.”

Kakashi quickly covered a laugh with a cough beside them. 

“Tell him if he tailgates me, I’m giving you all permission to throw rocks.”

The blonde laughed, leaning against the door. “I’m sure that’s plenty of reason for him to back off.” He looked past Obito then as if he just noticed that it wasn’t Konan in the passenger seat. “Hello, and who are you?”

“His name’s Kakashi, my neighbor. Kakashi, this is Deidara, my former roommate.”

Deidara flashed a toothy smile. “Former only because someone didn’t like the smell of hairspray in the morning.”

To be fair, no one liked gagging on the stuff every morning. And Deidara woke up at the break of dawn daily to fix his looks. It was like living with a girl, but Deidara never brought home cute guys. Actually he didn’t bring home many girls either. 

“Tobi!” another voice called out belonging to a red-haired man who was walking up to join them, flanked by a white-haired guy and a younger redhead. 

“Nagato.” Obito greeted. He introduced them all to Kakashi in turn, and it was easy to see how quickly he opened up with them. They must have known each other for a long time, most likely the same year that Obito had moved. Obito gestured towards the bed of his truck. “You guys hopping in or joining Zetsu?”

Sasori was already walking off. “Zetsu.”

“We’ll hop in with you.” Hidan said, crawling up the side. “More fun this way. Seat belts are overrated”

Obito turned then and squished himself between the two front seats so he could reach the small window that opened in the back. Kakashi distracted himself with his phone, setting up a playlist, although he couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder at Obito’s struggle. The truck was large, but wasn't doing wonders to accommodate his broad shoulders. The latch was apparently stuck and he was having trouble getting it. 

“Oi, stop leaning on the window!” Obito yelled, knocking on the glass where Hidan’s back was resting against it. The second the man lifted his back, the latch came free and the window opened quickly. Obito, who had been using that to lean on, lost his balance and fell into the back seat. “Damn it.” Came his unhappy voice.

Unable to resist, Kakashi lifted Obito’s legs and tossed the rest of him in the back. Obito made a surprised yelp as he crumpled on the floor. Moments later, his head appeared between the seats looking unamused despite Kakashi’s innocent smile. “What? I was helping.”

As much as Obito tried to appear annoyed, he couldn’t help the fact that it was funny. At least those in the back were getting a kick out of it. He arranged himself to slip legs first back into the front seat then buckled himself in. As he punched Kisame’s new address into his phone’s GPS, Kakashi copied it into a text to send to Asuma and the others. They had errands to run, but would be arriving later. 

“Should we tell them to sit down?” Kakashi asked, looking in his side mirror at those who were sitting in the back. 

Obito shook his head. “Nah, they’ll get the picture.” 

He threw the stick into reverse and pressed the gas quickly, sending those who had been adjusting to their butts. Noises of complaint followed by laughter came into the window, bringing an evil smirk to the culprit.

“Zetsu is coming down the parking deck. Don’t run him over.” Nagato’s voice came from the back. 

Obito scoffed, “Tell him not to get his mustang under my wheels.” As he put his truck in drive, he rolled down his window and flipped off the blue sports car behind them. It was promptly returned. 

Kakashi shook his head at the unusual greeting. “You’ve got some rich friends.”

A beach house, a sports car, even Obito’s truck couldn’t have been cheap. Yet the driver only shrugged as though he hadn’t noticed. “Guess that’s because of where we are all from. Iwa isn’t exactly a cheap place to live, so mainly wealthier people live there. I only got a truck so I could bully all the little cars out of the way.”

“What made you come back to Kasai?” He turned his music on, letting it play through an assorted list of popular hits. 

Obito didn’t miss the hint that Kakashi was dropping, still thinking he was a childhood friend. In reality, he could be right. They could have been childhood friends. Obito’s memories were lost and he remembered nothing from the time he was ten or eleven to his early memories. Still, he found that he couldn’t consider himself originally from Kasai. All of his memories now were of Iwa and of his friends there; everything beyond that was a new experience. “I didn’t like where I was living anymore. Needed a change of scenery.”

“Must have been hard,” his passenger mused. “Was it just you and your friends, or a family decision?”

“Are you referring to my uncle?” Obito asked, casting a sideways glance. “For someone who claims to by my childhood friend, you seem to know very little about me.”

Kakashi shrugged. “I know the younger version of you. The older version is completely blank to me. Should I tell you what I know?”

Knuckles turned a lighter shade on the steering wheel, although Obito gave no other visual. “Not interested.” Somehow Kakashi didn’t think the answer came from the same emotion it had during their meeting at the bar. Now it seemed to stem from nervousness or awkwardness. 

He expected the rejection, although the reaction still came as a disbelief. Perhaps whatever traumatized Obito into losing his memories, he didn’t want to relive it. Talking of the past might bring it up again, and Kakashi made a mental note to watch what he said. As much as he had missed his friend, he wasn’t about to ruin this chance that Obito was giving him at a new friendship. Tsunade might have been right about leaving the past in the past. 

Kakashi rested his elbow on the side of the car door. “Is there anything you do what to know?”

“What’s the best frozen yogurt place around here?”

A laugh escaped him before he could stop it. Not what he was expecting. “There’s a Yogurt Mountain just outside campus that’s really popular.”

Finally, he saw Obito smile genuinely and it brought it a giddy feeling to his stomach. “Awesome.”

“Although if you want good coffee flavored ice cream, I would suggest an old fashioned restaurant called Hiruzen’s Kitchen. The man makes the best homemade ice cream in the entire city.”

He watched Obito blink in shock and open his mouth to ask how Kakashi new his favorite flavored ice cream. But instead he shut it and just gave his passenger a curious look. It didn’t last long and his eyes were soon back on the road. There was a good chance he was trying to brush it off as friendly advice rather than a demonstration of their shared history. 

Kakashi took it all back. This was going to be infuriating. He wouldn’t have minded never remembering, but Obito wasn’t even interested. They were both going about this selfishly and he knew it. Obito, for whatever reason, didn’t even want to know and Kakashi, for every reason, wanted him to be at least a little curious. 

Expectantly, Obito changed the subject. “Do you play video games?”

“Sometimes. Yamato lets me use his PlayStation from time to time.”

Obito cringed. “Oh he’s one of those people, huh?”

“Actually, he’s more like the PC master race type of guy.”

“Right, well, I’m never inviting him over.”

Yet Kakashi couldn’t help but notice that he wasn’t included in that rejection. “What about me?”

“If I need a healer, I’ll let you know. Konan is terrible at war games.”

“I guess that’s alright. I’m more suitable for a support role anyways. Let me guess. Call of Duty? CS:GO?”

“Been playing Overwatch and Destiny lately, to be honest. COD got taken over by a bunch of eleven year olds and I can only take someone telling me they slept with my mother so many times before it gets old. One time I let Konan use the microphone while I played and it was a train wreck. My inbox was flooded with so many phone numbers.”

“Oh?”

“We sent them a bunch of pictures or gifs from /r/cringe consistently for over twenty-four hours. Pretty sure one of them was going to call the police on us one time.”

“That sounds amazing.” Kakashi could easily imagine kids being ruined by the things that could be shared from Reddit. It made pimple popping videos on YouTube look tame. “Some of that stuff can be seriously nightmare worthy.”

“So could half the stuff leaving their mouths,” Obito agreed. “What about you? Got any stupid stories?”

“Hmm…” Kakashi scratched his head thoughtfully. “A year or so ago, I was having a really bad finals week. My brain was so fried; I couldn’t even do simple math without giving myself a headache. My roommate at the time, Asuma, decided to cheer me up with a pillow fight.”

Obito snorted a laugh and made no attempt to hide the smile that lit up his features. “What is he, five?”

“Sometimes I wonder.” Kakashi’s laugh joined his. “But we decided we needed more targets. We went to Walmart and bought two extra pillows then started walking around campus beating up whoever we saw needed to be cheered up. Ended up on the front page of the school newspaper a few days later.”

“Well, look at Mr. Popular over here.” Obito teased. “Getting all known for beating people up with pillows.”

“Jealous, Obito? I’m sure you’ll have your fifteen minutes of fame one day.”

“He already had it.”

Obito looked into the review mirror where Deidara was leaning against the window. Kakashi turned in his seat. “What do you mean?”

“Well there was one time in ninth grade when Obito and Kisame went to the local aquarium and-.”

Obito, who had been slowing down for a red light, suddenly hit the gas causing Deidara’s to fall back into their group of friends. 

The blonde pushed forward, holding onto the open window so his words weren’t drowned out. “They jumped into the shark tank.”

Kakashi’s eyes widen slightly. Well that was very suicidal. Unless, “What kind of sharks?”

“Hammerheads.” Deidara laughed, but he was smacked by Konan. 

“They were small eye hammerheads, you idiot.” She corrected. 

“Not all of them!” he challenged. “Plus, they still had sharp teeth.”

Obito gave a bored glance behind him. “Don’t mind him. He hypes up the story to justify why he was too scared to join in.”

“What made you do that?” Kakashi asked, imagining Obito and an unknown man surrounded by sharks. And in ninth grade too? He couldn’t have been older than thirteen or fourteen. Surely he was smart enough to not do something stupid on purpose.

Obito shrugged, merging into traffic once more. “School field trip. Kisame dared me to do it and I told him that if I was going, so was he. We got banned from the aquarium and suspended for a few weeks from school.”

That was different from the kid Kakashi used to know. He and Obito had always been competitive, but neither one of them had tried to stand out for attention. If anything, they were decent students with the love of their teachers. Chikyū really must have been a different city to live in to change Obito this much.

“Your uncle must have been pissed.”

“He never knew.” Obito admitted. “He wasn’t around much and worked weird hours, so I really only saw him around dinner time. I just forged his signatures for school and had Kakuzu pretend to be my uncle on the phone when they called.”

“Rebel, huh?”

“Hey, I passed, didn’t I? I was a great student; I just got bored easily.”

“You were almost in the top 25, but you got beat out by Nagato.” Deidara laughed. 

Obito glared into the mirror. “And you nearly failed your senior year. Remind me how it is you made it to college again?”

“…summer classes… But to be fair, those teachers just didn't understand my artistic skills.”

Catching on to their conversation, those in the back proceeded to make fun of Deidara on Obito’s behalf so he could listen to the GPS. They were beginning to be close and their turns more frequent. 

Kakashi settled himself back in his chair, letting himself zone out. It was a favorite pastime of his to imagine himself in a world unlike his own where the impossible could happen. He could be a samurai, a ninja, a dragon flying next to the car. They were childish thoughts, but it kept him entertained. At some point, his thoughts turned into memories bringing forth images of his childhood with Obito and Rin or trips with his father. They were reappearing more frequently since he found out that Obito was his neighbor, and it was all he could do to stop himself from probing Obito’s mind again. How his friend could remain so passive on the topic was astoundingly annoying.

Soon beach houses came into view, obvious through their stilts and large decks. Yet rather than stop at one of these, Obito kept going until he reached the next class of beach housing. These were less ‘vacation home’ and more permanent, fitted with grass surrounded by patio and brick wall housing. They pulled into the second to last house; Obito had hardly turned the vehicle off before everyone was jumping out of it.

Following their lead, Kakashi exited the truck, grabbing his bag from Yamato. Without knocking, Obito’s group welcomed themselves inside and threw their items on the couch like it was their house. 

Everything inside looked new or hardly touched, like one of those ready to live in homes. Clearly the owner didn’t have kids or pets - there wasn't a trace of animal fur - but then it was entirely possible their job consumed them and they had no time to make their own house a mess. Or they were a neat freak.

“Hey now, have a little respect for the leather upholstery.” A voice said, coming down the stairs revealing man with blue dyed hair and wearing nothing but swimming trunks. Kakashi couldn’t help but notice that even his nails were painted blue.

Hidan punched this man’s shoulder in a friendly way. “How’ve you been, Kisame?”

He gave him a wide grin. “Released some sharks into the wild yesterday. About a few miles from here.”

Deidara and Yamato shared a shiver but Obito laughed as if he saw it as a challenge. “Nursing sharks?”

“Yeah.”

Obito laughed again and looked at the worried idiots. “They wouldn’t release a great white or any other major predator this close to public beaches.” He then turned to Kakashi and his roommate. “Kisame works as a marine biologist at the nearby ocean sanctuary.”

“I knew that!” Deidara clearly did not know that. “Sharks are still freaky though.”

Kisame draped an arm around his flustered friend. “Oh, I find that quite the contrary. They’re quite relatable. The ocean is their home, so they have every right to take a bite out of rude guests who walk in without so much as a hello. Sort of like you, Deidara.”

“Uh…hi Kisame…yeah…” He wiggled from the grip and moved to stand between the two new additions to their group. “Anyway, this is Yamato and Kakashi. They’re Obito’s neighbors. Kakashi here is actually Obito’s childhood friend or something.”

“Oh?” he quirked an eyebrow at Obito. “I never heard you talk about childhood friends.”

Obito resisted the urge to smack Deidara as he answered, “I don’t remember him.”

“That’s not nice, Tobi.”

“Neither is your newest nail color. Baby blue? Really?”

Kisame snickered at them as he flashed his hand proudly. “We had kids come to our sanctuary and boss wanted us to appear more friendly. Seemed to work, the kids got a kick out of it.” He then smacked Yamato and Kakashi on their backs in as much of a friendly way as was possible. “Well, any friend of these guys, forgotten or not, are a friend of mine. Welcome to my home. Bathroom is down the hall, second door on the right. Kakuzu is already in the back with Itachi making burgers and dogs. We got coolers back there too.”

As he finished the last of his sentence, Nagato and Zetsu walked right in as well. Having known each other for many years, they must be so used to making themselves at home when visiting others. It was like visiting another home. 

Zetsu, like Kisame, had dyed his hair an unnatural color but in his case it was green with black tips. Even his eyes were a light shade of the color, although they were naturally like that for as far as Kakashi could tell. 

“Where’s Obito?” Zetsu demanded. 

It was only after scanning the room did Kakashi realize that the Uchiha was no longer in the room. Talk about being a ninja, how did no one notice him leaving so quickly? Leaving Zetsu to explore the house, he made his way out back where he saw Obito pestering a dark haired man about burning food. This, he assumed, was Kakuzu since Kakashi already knew Itachi who was sitting off to the side. 

Zetsu stormed out a heartbeat after Kakashi, walking straight up to Obito and smacking him on the back of the head. “You asshole, you ran a red light and a cop thought it was me.”

Obito hid a smirk, unfazed by the attack. “Why did you follow me if I ran a red light?”

“Because I didn’t know the way!”

“Did you get a ticket?”

“No, I got a bucket of flowers. Yes, I got a ticket! You’re paying half.”

Obito defiantly crossed his arms. “You broke the law. You pay for it.”

“You broke it too!”

“Then where’s my ticket?”

“Here!” he shoved the slip of paper at Obito’s face. 

Obito smacked it away. “Don’t pick a fight with me, Zetsu, we both know who will win this.”

“Me!”

Konan and the others were seeping from the house, amused by their fight rather than worried. The yelling must have drawn them all out. “Go throw him in the ocean, Obito!”

“Toss him in the sand, Zetsu!” 

“Sounds like a plan.” Obito agreed and dove for Zetsu’s waist. Although their builds were similar, it was clear that Obito was the one who possessed more strength. He flipped Zetsu over his shoulder then walked down the steps of the back deck towards the open ocean. 

Kakashi took a seat next to Itachi as he watched the struggle between the two of them. Zetsu was putting up a great struggle, but somehow Obito was managing to balance him as he slipped around in the sand. “This happen often?”

Itachi sighed. “More than you know.”

Somehow Zetsu managed to swing the right way, causing Obito to lose balance and throwing them both onto the beach. 

Itachi leaned towards the cooler, grabbing two beers and handed one to Kakashi. The silver haired man gratefully accepted. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to find Obito again.”

Kakashi opened his drink, “So you do remember me.” He had been curious if Itachi had memories of him after only meeting once or twice. He had been extremely young at the time of their family reunion. 

“He used to talk about you all the time whenever he visited me. Even more than that other girl Rin.”

Kakashi felt a mixture of happiness followed quickly by hurt. “Why didn’t you contact me after he left then?”

Itachi fixed him with a look that made him look wiser beyond his years. Somehow it reminded Kakashi of the wise men from Hollywood movies that knew all. “Don’t you know why he moved in the first place?” When Kakashi shook his head, he continued, “Obito was in the accident with his parents. From what Uncle Madara told me, he was awake by the time the paramedics found him. Who knows how much of the accident he actually saw or what was going through his mind before they got there. He lost consciousness in the ride to the hospital and woke up remembering nothing. He couldn't even tell you his name, much less where he lived or how old he was. Madara didn’t want him to regain those painful memories, so he took him to Chikyū to avoid them resurfacing. He had a huge fight with Obito's grandmother over it, but in the end she allowed it to happen because she was under the impression Uncle Madara was protecting him. As Obito’s guardian, I respected his wishes to keep silent about Kasai. Even if I wanted to tell you about Obito, I wouldn’t. You would have found a way to contact him and who knows how he or my uncle would have responded to that.”

That was true. At that young an age, there was no telling what he might have done to be there for Obito. Even if it meant taking a taxi for hours without telling his dad - not that he believed his dad would be against the idea in the first place. “Yet here he is. Did Madara change his mind?”

“My uncle didn’t realize what Obito had done until about three days ago.”

Knowing the temperament of the older Uchiha he had met, Kakashi could easily visualize how that conversation could have gone. “I can’t imagine that going over well.”

“Right now they’re not on speaking terms. Uncle Madara doesn’t like being lied to, so he told Obito to do whatever he wanted but not to come crawling back to him if something went wrong. Basically, Obito is temporarily disowned.” He sighed. “Really, those two are too stubborn for each other. One minute at each other's throats, the next defending each other against those who would insult their decisions." 

At that moment, Obito flipped Zetsu over his shoulder but ended up falling with him. Both landed on their backs, stung by the heat of the sand and obnoxiously cried out. Konan and Deidara were the first to laugh at the scene while Hidan called them both morons. Zetsu was the first to stand and grabbed his opponent by the ankle, dragging him towards the ocean. 

“Stop, you jerk, that hurts!” Obito yelled out, trying to kick at him.

Zetsu got to the wet half of the beach before he lost grip and their fight continued. As much as they were enjoying themselves, it was clear they weren’t taking it easy on each other.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as Obito twisted out of a grip and countered with a tackle of his own. “What sport did Obito take up?”

“Wrestling for a while, but he didn’t like the outfits. He joined out MMA club sometime after that.” 

That made a lot of sense considering the way he was fighting off his opponents holds. “Zetsu too?”

Itachi shook his head, taking another swig of his drink. “Zetsu does track. He spars against Obito a lot though since they are always at the gym at the same time. What about you, Kakashi? What did you do?”

“Fencing for a bit” he admitted, although he was sure he lost his skills in that. It had really just been a sport for fun. 

“I didn’t realize that was an actual sport.” Itachi mumbled.

Kakashi took no offense; even at his school it hadn’t been a big deal. “It’s a pastime. Really, what surprises me is how you all decided to leave at once. Iwa must not be as fun of a city as it's cracked up to be.”

Kisame joined them then, taking up the other side of Kakashi. “Kakuzu and I were moving down here for job opportunities. The rest of these kiddies just didn’t want us to be alone.”

“I wasn’t that concerned about you.” Itachi frowned at him. 

The blue haired man tossed a laugh his direction. “Sure you didn’t. We all knew Tobi was ready to leave by the time he entered college with Konan and Nagato on his heels. They almost went to Kiri, you remember?”

“I remember you telling them that your parents still lived there and were borderline insane.”

“Everyone there is insane.” He pointed to the battle of Obito and Zetsu. “Speaking of, who wants to place bets on who wins?”

The way Itachi disregarded the question, it was like this was the usual way the conversation led. “Not a contest.”

“Oh?” Kakashi asked. “Why is that?”

“Obito always wins.”

Bringing truth to the words, a loud splash was heard and they all watched as Obito, knee deep in water, tossed his friend in before making a hasty retreat, a giant grin on his face. As soon as Zetsu gained his composure, the chase was on. 

A few of the others, including Deidara, Yamato, and Sasori, all decided to intercept Zetsu on the way and tackle him back into the water. Obito ran back up the deck and basically dove behind Kakashi and his companions. His clothes were soaked and clinging to him, thus making him stick to anything he came into contact with. Good thing they had dressed for the beach or getting wet might have been a major inconvenience. In the process of hiding, he reached towards the cooler and grabbed one of the canned Mountain Dews inside. 

“Having fun, Tobi?” Kisame leaned back, squishing Obito’s legs against the couch. 

Obito attempted to wiggle free but ended up giving up. Kisame’s bulky body was too annoying to fight against right then. Plus, he didn't want to spill his drink. “Don’t let him find me.”

“Not exactly the most hidden right now, kid. Your feet are hanging out.”

Obito’s feet kicked helplessly and he flopped on the couch in defeat. “You’re the worst partner in crime ever.”

Kakashi passed an amused look over his shoulder. “Why do people keep calling you Tobi?”

He was about to answer when Itachi leaned back and squished the top part of his chest against the couch and blocking his view.   
“No reason.” Itachi answered. He saw Obito about to answer and slapped a pillow over his face. “Just a nickname.”

Obito punched Itachi lightly on the back and pulled the pillow away. “Itachi couldn’t pronounce my name when he was younger and kept calling me that. It was so adorable that everyone else wanted to join in.”

“That was Sasuke, not me.” Itachi replaced the pillow to his face. “Now shut up. You’re supposed to be hiding.”

An obvious lie by the way Itachi was trying to remain nonchalant, but before Kakashi could attempt to try and get more backstory, Kisame called out, “Konan! Go in my room and get the bottle from my dresser.”

She looked over from where she had been talking to Kakuzu. “Why?”

Without answering, Kisame just pointed to his hands and then at Obito’s trapped feet. She grinned devilishly and broke into a run to the house. 

“What?” Obito’s muffled voice came from beneath the pillow. “What did he say?”

Itachi removed the pillow to say, “He’s having Konan get his drink from his room so he doesn't have to get a new one.”

Not believing him for an instant, Obito glanced from around Itachi to Kakashi. “Really?”

Wanting to see what happens next, Kakashi merely smiled and nodded. Obito relaxed a degree and snatched the pillow from Itachi to use under him. “Where’s Zetsu?”

They turned towards the ocean where a volleyball had appeared from nowhere. They four guys had relocated from the ocean to the beach where they were trying to see how long they could keep the ball off the ground. 

When Konan finally left the house again, she was followed by Kakashi’s last three friends who had finally made it. Asuma basically went straight to the food while Kurenai joined where the volleyball was. Naturally a female presence was welcomed, but her skills from being on the volleyball team quickly shown and she was making circles around all the guys. Asuma couldn’t help but watch helplessly on the sidelines as his girlfriend was basically absorbed into a group of guys while he ate his food. He was mumbling something about showing them all up in football if they had one.

Rin pulled up a seat slightly across Itachi and Kakashi, taking in the scene before her. She chuckled lightly at Obito's attempt at hiding himself then seemed to realize who Itachi was. “You’re Obito’s cousin, right? I remember meeting you once.”

Itachi nodded to her. “You too.”

Before Obito could jump on the train of how they all knew each other, he felt someone grab his feet and panicked. Kisame and Itachi applied more pressure to trap him as Konan unscrewed the bottle of nail polish. “What are you doing?!” he tried to smack them with a pillow. Kakashi pulled it from his grasp and put it behind him before joining the others in restraining him. “Kakashi, you lied to me!”

“Sorry.” Was all Kakashi offered as he struggled to keep Obito still along with the others. 

Obito wiggled his feet frantically. “Get off me!”

Konan smacked the bottom of his foot. “Stop moving or you’ll get nail polish all over your foot.”

“ _What!?_ ”

Rin broke out laughing and quickly joined Konan. As the girls worked, Obito cursed them all until Kakuzu walked over and started poking him with French fries.

The noise attracted the others and they came to watch Obito’s torment. Zetsu specifically was enjoying it, claiming it to be unintended revenge for just a few minutes earlier. He expressed an interest in adding make-up to the mix, but they only thing they had was eyeliner from Konan. However, Obito’s hands were free and there was no way they were going to get to his face.

Konan finished his feet and recapped the bottle, standing up with a triumphant aura. “Now wait a few minutes for it to dry.” She instructed. 

“I’m going to kill you all.” Obito growled, glaring at anyone within his field of vision. It went ignored as they all congratulated each other in their achievement. 

Rin took out her phone and clicked a picture of their finished product. “No complaints about this going on Instagram, right? My followers will love it.”

“Don’t you dare!” Obito yelled at her while everyone else urged her to do it anyways. 

Deidara laughed as he bent down in front of his former roommate. “Gotta say, Obito my man, I didn’t think baby blue was your color. You always struck me as a navy blue or dark purple.”

One dumped can of soda later, Deidara was running towards the ocean to remove the sticky substance from his clothes before it dried. Obito attempted to toss the empty can after him for good measure.

After about two minutes, they allowed Obito to gain his freedom once more. Rather than run away instantly, he climbed on the back of the couch and started picking at the polish to get it off. Kisame grabbed his foot and pulled, causing him to fall behind them once again in a way that had him crashing into Kakashi’s back. “Hey, that cost twelve dollars. Keep it on.”

“Who spends that much on something they’re only going to use once?” The dumbfounded Uchiha asked, pushing against Kakashi’s back although it didn’t offer him any more room. “If you want to waste money, just send it my way.”

“You’d just go off and spend it on games anyways. Try and focus on graduating your last year of college.”

It was cute how Obito actually pouted at that. The way he looked reminded Kakashi of when Obito had been grounded for getting a bad grade in school. Kakashi had felt so bad for him, that he invited him over to his house under the guise of being a study partner. They had ended up playing video games the entire time instead. That had all worked out until his dad found out what they were doing and forced them to study for three hours straight. As a middle schooler, that had been killer. At least for Obito.

Something told Kakashi that if he tried to comfort Obito in a similar way now, it would not be met with enthusiasm. Suggesting it would most likely end up with both of them getting laughed at. 

He stood up to allow Obito room and offered his hand to Rin. “Anyone want to play chicken?”

They set up four teams (Rin/Kakashi, Konan/Nagato, Kurenai/Asuma, Deidara/Hidan) and headed towards the ocean. They tried to get Itachi and Obito to join in, yet both expressed an interest in dying rather than allow either one to be on the shoulders of the other. 

Obito hung back to grab some food and leaned over the railing, watching the new challenge take place. His nails were still baby blue, but if he couldn’t get it off by the end of the day he vowed to buy remover on the way home. Sasori joined him, eating a small salad rather than meat.

As much as Obito wanted to deny it after their initial meeting, he couldn’t help but find Kakashi and the others easy to get along with. He thought they would have been clingy as hell about insisting that they knew each other. He never expected to encounter an issue like that when he decided to join his friends in transferring to Kasai City. Even while they had been driving up, he had assumed Kakashi would make all sort of references towards his past.

Yet he didn’t. He was respecting Obito’s wishes to leave the past behind and it spoke volumes. There were no underhanded comments or depressed feelings; Kakashi had accepted it and moved on. Even Rin, how had been so insistent at first, wasn't hounding him with questions. Maybe they really had been friends in the past.

Obito wondered if he was being too selfish about the whole ordeal. If they had known each other, he wasn’t being fair to them by refusing to acknowledge them as old friends. He was forcing them all to start over. 

Yet one thing that bothered him was the fact that Rin mentioned knowing Itachi. Itachi had even confirmed it. If his cousin knew he had friends here and never bothered to bring it up before now, what were they all hiding? Why had no one bothered to inform him that he had an established life in Kasai with friends? He could have at least had a pen pal. Which also begged the question: if Kakashi and Rin had attempted to find him in the past, was his uncle trying to hide that from him? Did his uncle even know?

Groaning, Obito ran a hand through his hair and sighed. This was too annoying to think about, and if anything he was over thinking it. 

“Stomach problems?” Sasori asked, casting a sideways glance his way as he ate. 

Obito shook his head. “No, just thinking.”

“Don’t hurt yourself.”

“Shut up.”

He let his gaze wander to the chicken fight where Deidara had been the first to be dethroned. He and Hidan were in the midst of arguing about who sucked more – at least until Kurenai joined them in the water. It was now between Rin and Konan, and Obito found himself rooting for the former. Konan still deserved to be knocked down after shutting off his game yesterday. 

In a last ditch effort to win, Konan climbed on the shoulders of Nagato and kicked off, tackling her opponents and causing them all to crash. Obito was surprised she didn’t fall before she actually accomplished that. What made it better though was Kakashi’s face when he tried to figure out what exactly just happened. He looked like a child who just got something taken away from them the instant before they started crying, but instead of crying he just turned to watch the girls wrestling behind him. 

Sasori was also amused. “They fit right in with us.”

Obito found himself completely agreeing.


	3. Fortuitous Happenings

Kakashi had just finished visiting Kurenai at work - she was a part timer at a cake shop - when he decided to make Obito a visit as well. He had a free day since the weather had taken a bad turn and his classes in the evening had cancelled. Thankfully most of the work this week had been online anyway. Privileges of being in grad school was less hours needed in an actual classroom.

When he entered Slug bar, he found his target behind the counter furiously glaring down at a piece of paper. Not long ago he would have assumed it was bills or something for work, but he recently discovered that Obito only got that look when dealing with homework. Specifically, homework that included teamwork. He didn’t envy the fact that Obito had decided to follow the cellular biology route of college, but then again Obito would have said the same thing to Kakashi about his veterinary track. 

“Yo.” He greeted, finding a seat at the bar.   
Obito jumped as if woken up from a daze and turned to Kakashi, his features softening considerably from what it had been. “Hey. You want something to drink?”

He answered with a small shrug. “Surprise me.”

The Uchiha took a minute to go through his mental list of what to serve based on the type of things he had seen Kakashi drink in the past, then turned to get to work. As he did so, Kakashi leaned over and pulled the paperwork over. Just as he expected: biology. No matter how many times he skimmed the paper, he had no idea what it was saying. A few things he could pick up from his studies from veterinary school, but what Obito was going into was much more complex. 

He slid it back as Obito returned to him, pushing a small glass of dark liquid and ice towards him, “Ever tried Irish Whiskey?” Obito asked, taking his papers back and putting them beneath the counter.

“I’ve had Irish Breakfast Tea before.” He answered, taking a small sip. 

Obito actually rolled his eyes at him. “Oh yeah, they are totally the same thing.”

Not true at all. The tea went down much more smoothly with less of a bite. But Kakashi wasn’t going to object; Obito managed to find things that were easily within his tastes. It was no wonder that he was accepted into this job so quickly. If he recalled correctly, it only took him making Tsunade a single drink for him to get hired.

“What are you doing this weekend? Specifically, Saturday?”

Obito cast a glance towards the back where Dan was waiting tables before taking his phone out and checking the calendar. “I’ll be finishing up a 4 am shift, but the rest of my night is free. You trying to make plans?”

“For my birthday, yeah.”

Unexpectedly, Obito flinched. “Shit, I knew I was forgetting something. Want me to host?”

“Our apartments are mirrored layouts. How will you hosting make more room?”

“Plenty of reasons. One: if you decided to get trashed, it won’t be your apartment that will be a mess. Saves you from doing the morning after cleaning. Two: you’ve been around our friends long enough to know they can get rowdy and you’ve got more breakable things than I do. And three:” he gestured towards himself as if obvious, “I’m an amazing host.”

They were all very solid points, and Kakashi would hate to see his book collection ruined by spilt drinks. After Yamato’s incident, he had become very paranoid about liquids near his things. Also he couldn’t help but find the idea of Obito tending to him very appealing.

“Sounds like a good idea. What time is good for you?”

“Any time after noon is fine. Gives me time to run over everything to make sure Sasori won’t try and steal something, he’s been after my signed poster of the Akatsuki since I went to their concert a few years back.”

Kakashi hid a smile as he drank. Only a month had passed since Obito had returned back to Kasai and Kakashi’s life, and already they had seemingly picked up where they left off. Even Obito’s words of “our friends” showed just how quickly they had grown. There wasn’t an ‘us’ or ‘them’ between them, and their collective group of friends had been combining since the beginning of the school year. Occasionally Kakashi had lunch with Nagato or went to the gym with Zetsu, and other times he would hang out with any one of them after school. Kisame and Kakuzu even visited often to the point that it was like they weren’t part of the adult world yet. 

“I’m thinking of having Akimichi’s cater to us.”

“That’s that barbeque place just down the road from here, right? I haven’t been there before.”

Kakashi had to stop himself from arguing that. He and Obito often went when they were younger, using their monthly allowances with Rin to eat out at least once every two weeks. They had even become quick friends with the owner and his son. More than once he and Obito had bickered over who took whose barbeque slices while Rin appealed to both by offering her own.

Instead, he simply nodded. “You’ll like it.” He assured him. “I’ve never met someone who didn’t like their food.”

“See, I used to think that way about pie, but then you came along and said you don’t even like sweets. You're a heathen to all dessert lovers.”

Kakashi feigned a hurt look. “We can’t all have a sweet tooth.”

“You don’t even have a favorite candy bar.” Obito retorted. “What were you bribed with as a kid? Broccoli?” 

“I do like broccoli.”

Obito shook his head with an upsetting groan. “Your childhood must have been sad.” He grabbed the rag off his shoulder and started cleaning a portion of the bar, trying to appear like he was working as Dan made his rounds. Not that he had to try very hard, the bar was having a quiet night. Plus it was the bartenders job to entertain the customers to a certain degree. “Should I tell Deidara not to make you a cake?”

“Deidara bakes?”

“I survived my freshman year of college on cookies and pies.” He took a minute to bask in the memory of it as though he could still smell the sugared dough in the air. “God, his pies were good.”

“And the freshman fifteen turned into the freshman fifty for you.”

“Ha. Ha.” He flicked water Kakashi’s direction. “So that’s a no on Deidara?”

Kakashi covered his drink and moved over a seat so Obito could clean up the drops of water where he had sat moments before. “He can if he wants to. I’m sure the others will enjoy it. Just don’t make a fruit cake please. My aunt makes those for Christmas and they’re the nastiest things in the world; I’m pretty sure if I see one again I’ll be traumatized.” 

“Carrot cake?”

“Anything besides fruit cake.” He downed the rest of his drink and pulled his wallet out to pay. 

Obito took the card and sidestepped behind the register. “I’ll let his imagination run wild then. You’re not allergic to anything, are you?”

“Not that I’ve found yet. But that’s a good question. Is anyone in our group allergic to anything?”

“Sasori’s got a pet allergy and I’ve been told I have a bad reaction to morphine. I think Rin mentioned something about shellfish?”

“It’s mainly shrimp for her.” He confirmed although he was very interested in the morphine comment. “When did you start taking drugs?”

“Ask Zetsu. He was my dealer in high school.” He finished ringing up the card and looked back to Kakashi’s surprised look. “What? I was kidding. The real answer is that’s what they put me on after I was in a car accident.” That didn’t help the look that he was receiving. “It wasn’t as bad as it sounds. Madara just told me I thought things were coming out of the walls.”

“What, like the TV was about to fall on you?”

“More like the boogyman was related to the one-eyed one-horned flying purple people eater.” Obito smirked, handing the card back. “I was always curious about wanting to try it again, but I never got injured enough to the point of needing it.”

“Somehow I’ve got the image of you deliberately endangering yourself just to find out.” He put the card away and stood up as Obito took his glass from him. “Man, you talk about my childhood being sad.”

“Mine’s not sad. It’s much more exciting.”

“Adrenaline junkie.”

“I’ll take you to an aquarium sometime.” Obito laughed. 

 

“You cheater!!!” Deidara yelled out, button mashing his Wii remote which only sent his character falling off the edge of the screen. “No! Damn it!”

The rest of the room howled in laughter as they watched him yet again screw himself over in their super smash bros competition. Rin was button mashing as well although she was more successful playing the part of Kirby. Nagato was killing it with Link, Sasori as Rosalina, and Deidara as Charizard. 

Obito leaned over the back of the couch towards the fuming blonde. “Need a hint?”

“Please.” Deidara answered through clenched teeth. 

Kakashi looked over from where the controller was being handed off to him, hoping to hear whatever hint he could as well. Unfortunately, Obito had resorted to covering his mouth and whispering into Deidara’s ear. So instead, he went with a character he was familiar with: Mario. Konan took Rin’s place and chose Meta Knight and Nagato as the winner stuck with his own character. They all watched as Deidara scrolled over and picked the villager.

As the game started, Obito stayed on Deidara’s shoulder quietly instructing him. For a while it seemed like the villager was just trying to plant a tree. All it did was create another wall for them to jump over; at least that’s what they thought until Deidara cut it down and caused Nagato’s character flying off the map. 

“What? What?! The hell was that?” Nagato shouted, changing his tactic to go after Deidara. “Obito, stop helping!!”

Deidara laughed evilly and tried to continue the move, but with everyone now aware of his strategy, they all teamed up on him. Deidara’s good mood shifted back into a helpless wail as his character was consistently sent over the edge. 

“You guys are a bunch of bullies. Hand it over, Deidara.”

The blonde quickly tossed the controller over and Obito went crazy on their characters, shifting the favor towards the villager. If it wasn't evident that the game belonged to him, it did then for sure. Pretty soon he was easily handling all of their characters at once and even dodging to the point that they were attacking themselves. 

“No fair getting the guy who owns the game to fight your battles!” Konan complained, trying her hand against Obito. Her character soon met the fate of the bottom of the screen. 

“I’m on it!” came a voice and soon Obito was being lifted up and swung around by Kisame. 

Obito grunted as air was leaving his lungs. Somehow he managed to send Nagato and Kakashi's characters off in the same hit before tossing the controller to Deidara. “Finish them off!”

Still Kisame didn’t put him down and dragged him towards the kitchen. As the host, Obito had taken it upon himself to mix drinks for everyone. He had even dressed the part in a stereotypical vest and tie. They had all compiled money during the week so he and Konan could go shopping for drinks and snacks. There were all sorts of different drink mixes separated into lights and darks so no one got their alcohols mixed. There was also a large container of ice water for anyone later in the night.

The match ended with Nagato in the lead once again and Kakashi right behind him. Deidara managed to snag third place from Konan and seemed to consider that an achievement on its own. 

“Alright, boys and girls, game time!” Hidan announced, placing a cup in the middle of the table in the living room. He opened a pack of cards and put them face down in a circle around it. “You all have a proper amount of alcohol in you to enjoy this to a whole new extent.”

Kurenai looked over from her seat and laughed. “Ring of Fire? Been a while since I’ve played this.”

Obito, now freed from Kisame’s grasp and capable of continuing his job for the night, handed everyone either a new or refill of their drinks. That way if anyone picked a king, something new would be added to the center. When he finally joined them, Kakashi noticed he was holding a Gatorade rather than some form of alcoholic drink like the rest of their group.

Asuma noticed as well. “Are you playing everyone’s DD?” he joked.

Obito smiled good naturedly but didn’t have the chance to answer before Zetsu did, “Obito doesn’t drink.”

“Bad experience?” Asuma asked, now interested. 

Obito shook his head. “Nah, just never really been interested. Plus, someone’s got to make sure none of you die tonight.” He leaned against the back of the sofa behind Yamato and glanced around. “Who goes first?”

“Dibs.” Kisame said, pulling the first card. Naturally, he pulled a six. 

“You guys are going to be gone before you get through two rounds.” Obito laughed as all the guys took a drink. They weren’t even taking shots; clearly some were planning on proving him right. He grinned to himself then moved back into the kitchen where he began setting up the food. 

Akimichi had delivered about thirty minutes ago while they set up their super smash bro competition. It was a time killer while they waited for the rest of their group to arrive. Obito was in the process or arranging the table so that they could get their catered food all in a line. Knowing his friends, they would be running to the table all night. He had taken care of them enough times in the past to know how they all got the munchies when they were drunk.

“Tobi! We need a category!” Hidan yelled out. 

Obito glanced over the counter at them. “Anime?”

“Shit.” Kakuzu mumbled, trying to sneak his phone out to look some up before it got to be his turn.

Obito had thought that Sasori would have the advantage on this one, but as it turned out Yamato was a big fan of it as well. Given Kakuzu only watched the discovery channel or the news, it was expected that he would be the one to lose first. Yet Kakashi ended up breaking the streak by renaming one that had already been said which ended in a ton of mocking. Turns out he thought One Piece counted as two since it had a time skip in it. 

The next round was rhyming which made Obito severely glad he wasn’t playing. He hardly even listened to rap, and he could rhyme maybe seven words in a row if it wasn’t a hard one. Something like ‘gate’ would be easy. Nagato chose orange and proceeded to glare mockingly at Rin next to him. She tried to go the ‘Drake and Josh’ route and say door hinge, but they called her out for using two words rather than one. 

Obito fell out of listening as he noticed his phone going off from an unknown number. He moved to a quieter part of the apartment, namely the corner of the kitchen just inside his room, before answering it. Knowing his luck, it would be the front office of their apartment complex telling them that they had a noise complaint. Turns out it was much worse. 

“Hey, brat. You sign up for school yet?”

Obito cringed at the harsh sound of his uncle. “Yeah. Are you calling from a pay phone?”

His uncle tsked at him. “Yes, now stop asking stupid questions. Where are you staying?”

“What do you care?”

“Boy, don’t take that tone with me. I want to make sure you’re not going to throw your life away if you don’t plan on living in Chikyū anymore.” 

Obito could almost laugh at that. The last time he and his uncle had talked, it had been an argument. Madara claimed that he promised to take care of him while Obito was claiming not to be a child. The man had a vast amount of acquaintances in Chikyū that left Obito little place to go that his uncle wouldn’t know about. The man was smothering him. 

He sighed, trying to see that his uncle was worried rather than being a control freak. “I’m enrolled in Konoha for a final year, I’ve got an apartment with Konan, and I’ve got a job as a bartender. See? Everything’s fine.”

“A bartender? Are you serious? That’s what you’re going to do with your degree?”

Right, he also forgot his uncle was a full blown critic. “If that’s all uncle…”

“Now hold on. Fugaku called me to say that Itachi left as well. Is he down there with you?”

So Itachi didn’t tell his parents either, huh? What was it about the Uchiha family that their parents were incredibly clingy? Poor Sasuke was bound to be the next to run away from home. “Yeah, he’s down here too. He’s rooming with Nagato.”

Madara growled into the receiver. “Did you _all_ go down there?”

“More or less.”

Obito couldn’t see it, but he was pretty sure his uncle had pressed his head against something. His hand or the wall, it didn’t matter. Madara had always found Obito’s friends questionable, but then he always wanted Obito to join the task force along with his uncle Fugaku. He and Itachi were breaking one family tradition after the other. 

Madara sighed. “Well, I guess it’s too late to tell you no. And I doubt you would listen to me anyways.”

His uncle was right about that at least. 

“I’ll be fine, uncle. Currently I’ve got the gang over, so unless you need anything else I’m gonna go.”

“It’s a school night, Obito.”

“And I’m not five years old. I’m completely capable of taking care of myself. You’re still my emergency contact, so if I die or get in trouble, you’ll be the first to know.”

“That’s not funny."

On the contrary, Obito thought he was hilarious. “Either way, don’t worry about me.”

“I’m not worrying! Let me know when you graduate so I can pass the message on to the rest of the family.”

“Sure. Later, uncle.” 

He hung up before Madara had the chance to bring up another topic and replaced the phone to his pocket. Since his uncle had called from a payphone, that must have meant that he was in the middle of an assignment. No doubt he wouldn’t want to have to pay to call Obito back just to question him some more. Yet that also meant that Obito would have to watch out for random calls again. At the very least he would have to take notice of the area code. 

Obito replaced the phone to his pocket and walked back into the room to find everyone staring at him. Strange, he didn’t think anyone would miss his presence since he wasn’t playing the game. “What?”

“Damn,” Sasori said, breaking the silence. “I thought for sure it would have been Deidara.”

Just as he said that, the bathroom door from inside his bedroom opened and Deidara came out to join Obito in the kitchen. He paused as well and looked around just as confused as Obito was. 

“Well, guess it’s Obito then.” Kisame laughed, reaching forwards and picking the next card. 

Deidara flopped down in his seat. “What I miss?”

Rin answered, “Konan drew a Jack so she got to make a rule, right? She said the person to draw the last king has to make out with the first person to come back in the room. It was between you and Obito.”

Deidara laughed in relief knowing he had just dodged a bullet while Obito frowned at them all. “Why pick on the guy who isn’t playing?”

“At least you swing both ways,” Deidara pointed out. “I would die if I had to make out with anyone here with a dick.”

“What?” Rin asked in drunken surprise. “You’re what?”

Obito just sighed. Deidara was right in that at least, which would have made it more funny for the rest of them to have to watch. “Konan, you make the dumbest rules. Plus, you all forget that if you draw another Jack before the King, you can always change the rule.” Obito found his place behind the couch again, leaning slightly over Zetsu to look at the amount of cards left versus the amount of alcohol they each had. From the looks of what had been thrown in the discard pile, most of the face cards were gone. There were maybe three face cards left including a king, jack, and he assumed a queen. 

Kakuzu drew a number eight card and picked Asuma to be his ‘date’. Somehow Obito had a feeling it was coming down to who could handle their alcohol between the two of them. 

Next up was Yamato who picked a number one. Obito watched as they all were forced to continue drinking until he stopped and then it fell to Kakuzu who was staring deliberately at Asuma. The jerk was purposefully trying to get their friend drunk to see who could last longer while dragging the rest of them down with him. 

“Oi, you’re going to make people run out before the rounds over.” Obito slapped him lightly on the shoulder. 

Kakuzu grunted and gave in, the rest following in suit. Obito smirked at his friends inflated ego then made his way into the kitchen. Two people in specific were running low, so Obito figured it was time to remake their drinks. Plus, if he was making their drink, he could slowly wean them off the alcohol so they would have less of a hangover, but still give them just enough to keep them in their happy state. It might not be the best skill, but he was useful for something at parties at least. When he came back, everyone was staring at him again. Perfect.

“Well? Who drew it?” He asked, handing out the two drinks he had made. Please don’t be Kisame again. The last time he had been forced into something like this, it hadn’t ended well. Kisame had this whole ‘dominant’ thing that Obito couldn’t get over. He had a bite mark on his lip for a week after that. Kisame hadn’t even been sorry; he had laughed the entire time.

When he turned to face them after handing Asuma his new drink, he found Kakashi sheepishly holding up the king card. Konan was slightly hiding behind Nagato in a fit of drunken giggles. Somehow, Obito didn’t find himself mad at this. At least he had gotten his wish and that it wasn’t Kisame again. Speaking of, the jerk actually had the gall to pout. Maybe that was what Konan was laughing at. 

Kakuzu leaned back slightly to look up at Obito. “Time limit was for at least a full two minutes. I think while you’re having your fun for the night, I’m get food.” Two minutes? Last time it had only been one. Damn it, Konan, this was the last time Obito allowed her to get this drunk. He should have been more careful with her drink. 

“Food sounds good.” Nagato agreed. 

Ignoring those getting up for food, Obito made his way over to Kakashi, not forgetting to smack Konan on the back of the head on the way. She made a squeak and jumped up to follow Kakuzu, nearly falling into him on the way. Extending his hand, Obito offered a small smile to Kakashi’s still sheepish appearance. “You’re going to have to stand up for this because there’s no way I’m sitting on your lap.”

Kakashi gave a small laugh. “You sure about it?

Obito wasn’t quite positive if he was referencing the need to stand up or the need to follow through with Konan’s rule. As someone who wasn’t playing the game, he could have easily rejected the entire situation. However, he could help but wonder where the fun would be in that. Plus, it was Kakashi's birthday and Obito had yet to do anything other than host a party. If this was what made him happy, Obito was more than willing to comply. Either way his answer was the same. 

“Yeah, I’m sure. _Can_ you stand?”

“Hey now,” Kakashi took his hand, allowing Obito to pull him up. “I’m not that bad yet.”

Despite his words, he could feel Kakashi unintentionally using their linked hands for balance. He was holding on more tightly than one normally would, using Obito like a pillar to focus on standing still or at least straight. Would Kakashi even remember half of this night? Oh well, he was enjoying himself. It was the least Obito could ensure since he hadn’t bought Kakashi a present for his birthday. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t thought about it, he just couldn’t think of anything that Kakashi would have liked. 

Taking lead, he pulled Kakashi past their kitchen to where their hallway intersected with the front door. He knew if he tried to drag Kakashi into another room, the rest of them would give him hell for it. He could easily imagine Hidan or Kisame telling them to get a room, but then 'oh wait, you already have one'. Yet the spot right next to the front door was just out of view of the living room so where they wouldn’t have an active audience. If someone was going to watch in on them, he was going to make sure they had to make themselves really damn obvious.

Kakashi looked down at their connected hands as they made their way away from the others. He couldn’t tell what was making his heart beat more, the fact that he had been the one to pick the card or the fact that Obito hadn’t rejected the entire idea. As one of the few sober people of the night, he could have easily backed out or told them to pick something else. He hadn’t expected Obito to be so…willing. He could recall Obito being deathly shy to the point it caused him to stutter and retreat ungracefully. Now he was so sure of himself, with a confidence that only had Kakashi finding him more attractive for. Yet, in the end, they had only been friends for a month. What if this was all an act to not appear a coward before the rest of their friends?

“Hey,” Kakashi pulled them to a stop, dreading the last thought. “Are you really sure-?”

The hand that held his retreated further up until it grasp the nape of his neck, pulling him forward until their lips met, halting his sentence midway. The rest of him halted as well, incapable of comprehending what had just happened or what was happening. His sense of touch kick started before the rest of him did, becoming firmly aware of how close Obito was to him in attempt to shut him up. One hand in his hair while the other planted firmly on his waist to stop him from swaying anywhere. His heart pounded hard against his chest while his brain jumped from one thing to another unable to create a coherent thought. 

Then Obito pulled back to give him a smirk that stole his breath. “What? Don’t tell me that was your first kiss.”

Kakashi’s mind snapped at the challenge as naturally as it would under normal circumstances. He put his arms around Obito’s chest, pulling them together to close what little distance had remained between them. Their lips came together again, although this time in a less ‘shut up’ way and more gentle. This time Kakashi was accurately aware of how soft they were as they moved together with his. He felt Obito’s hand trace the side of his jaw before his tongue ran across his bottom lip. He happily obliged and deepened their kiss, unknowingly pushing Obito back into the process. The only fuzzy thought in his mind was that they needed to be closer in any way possible. Their bump into the wall caused him to slightly jump, but Obito chased after him, refusing to break their connection.

Whether it was from the alcohol running through his system or not, Kakashi couldn’t remember the last time he felt his heart pound this hard against his chest or be this eager to kiss someone before. The way their tongues slid together sent chills through him; no doubt if he looked he could find goosebumps covering his arms. There was no way that was going to happen at that moment though. Obito’s grip on his waist had formed into him fisting the clothes there. He was kissing back with everything that Kakashi felt and it made Kakashi want him that much more. 

Kakashi almost moaned when Obito lightly bit his lip, and he responded by retreating just enough to place a kiss on the side of Obito’s neck. When he didn’t get a wanted response, he used his tongue instead to find a sensitive spot on the other man just below his ear. Kakashi could feel the shiver that ran up Obito’s back as he arched slightly into the touch. Pleased, he was about to do it again when Obito redirected him so that their lips met again. Rather than stop there, Obito flipped their positions by pushing back against Kakashi, forcing his back to hit the wall next to them. His hands traveled slightly under Kakashi’s shirt, putting his hand on skin so that his thumb could roll over his hip while he deepened their kiss. Kakashi moaned softly, completely lost in the feel of having Obito surround him. His grip tightened on the back of Obito’s shirt, trying to ground himself while every move Obito made caused him to lose more of himself. 

Reacting in the moment and not with his brain, Kakashi's leg shifted in a way that was meant to rebalance himself but caused him to accidentally rub up against Obito. The Uchiha's breath caught and he temporarily broke away just enough to leave hardly an inch between them. Their breathing seemed to mix, both trying to get back the air that had left their lungs. Kakashi watched through half lidded eyes as Obito seemed to be trying to compose himself, yet everything in Kakashi's hazy mind was telling him to not let that happen. He lifted his hand to slowly trace the features of Obito's face. The small curve of his lips, the firm jawline, how it felt to simply hold Obito against him. His stomach fluttered in response as Obito closed his eyes to the touch, leaning into it slightly before losing whatever control he had gained in the brief moment before pulling Kakashi back to him and resuming where they had left off. If it was physically possible for Kakashi to melt, he was pretty sure it was happening then. His mind and senses were dull to anything that wasn't how good Obito felt in his arms or the trail of fire that was left anywhere they touched. 

“Hey!” 

He didn’t realize the others had been calling them until a pillow smacked him on the arm. When Obito broke away from him, Kakashi looked down at the pillow then towards the individual who threw it. “What?”

Hidan was standing there with his arms crossed while Deidara comically peeked around the corner and Konan offered a smug look in the background. “You two going to need a room, or would you like to join the rest of us for the next game?”

It took Kakashi longer than he would have liked to remember that this had all been because of Konan’s rule and that it came with a time limit. Had they gone over? He peeked towards the man he was still holding onto and saw him completely red faced. Dear God, it was so adorable it made Kakashi want to kiss him again. Obito, unfortunately, didn’t seem to share that thought as he removed himself from Kakashi’s hold. Yet the fact that he didn’t have a response for his friend, for once, said everything. He had been just as absorbed in the moment as Kakashi had been, and now it was Kakashi who was smirking at him. “No, that wasn’t my first kiss.”

“Shut up.” Obito growled at him, his cheeks turning a darker shade of crimson. He reached down to grab the pillow and tossed it at Kakashi. “Try not to trip on your way back.”

Kakashi’s only response was to hug the pillow to him and follow behind the man who still had him captivated, grinning like a dork. 

Obito rolled his eyes and turned away, forcing himself to regain his composure despite the knowing look that Konan was giving him. Damn her. Damn her and all her tricks. He deliberately avoided her and planted himself firmly between Kisame and Kakuzu. The former, without warning, grabbed his face and forced Obito to look at him. “What? No bite mark?”

If Obito could die at that moment… “Turns out Kakashi is a better kisser than you are.”

Deidara howled in laughter alongside Asuma while Kisame sputtered a useless insult back. Obito couldn’t help but glance at Kakashi and saw him still hugging the pillow to him, resting his head on top and smiling proudly. How could the idiot not even look the least bit embarrassed? Obito turned away again, eager to change the conversation before he revealed how he felt about that. “What’s the next game?”

“Fish bowl.” Kisame pouted, still unable to find something to throw back at Obito. 

Nagato handed out three sheets of paper to everyone to write on, explaining the rules to Kurenai who had never played it before. Round one, get your teammates to figure out what’s on the card without saying the words on it. Round two: act it out without words. Round three: say only one word to describe what is on the card without using the words written on it. 

The teams went as followed: Deidara, Konan, Kakashi, Itachi, Hidan, Kakuzu, and Asuma as team one. Zetsu, Obito, Yamato, Nagato, Sasori, Kisame, and Kurenai as team two. Rin decided to play score keeper and time manager. Every person was given 45 seconds before it was handed off to the next. Obito kept his cards simple: premature ejaculation, Konan’s porn collection, and flying spaghetti monster. Writing more than four words made the game stupid hard so therefore it was against the rules.

As everyone wrote out their own, they threw it all into one of Obito and Konan’s shared mixing bowls and handed it off to Zetsu. Everything was going fine, everyone was laughing at each other for being a drunk idiot (exempting Obito, Sasori, and Kurenai who remained the sober ones but still laughing) all up until it came to Kakuzu. He read the card and gave Obito a look that was so close to apologetic as Obito had ever seen him do. He then just sighed and pointed at Obito then back to Kakashi. 

“Obito’s boy-toy!” Deidara shouted the bust out laughing. “Oh my god, that’s my card!”

That son of a... But Kakuzu shook his head, looking even more like he pitied the parties involved. “Not quite.” He answered.

Konan then started losing her composure and said, “Lover boys!” 

Deidara joined in her laughter, high fiving her and the rest of their team. Hell, even Kakashi was laughing at the card!

“I hate you both.” Obito groaned, covering his face with his hands. The silver haired idiot was too drunk to realize he was being made fun of. Would it be too much to hope that no one remembered this when they woke up in the morning? Or for Obito to die of embarrassment? One of those things were bound to happen before the end of the night. What was he going to do if someone had to act out those cards? Oh God, what was he going to do if _Kakashi_ had to act out one of those cards? He was going to kill his friends. They were dead to him now.

Luckily fate decided to have pity on him and Kurenai got one of the cards. Her blush caused everyone to guess what it was before she had a chance to move. Nagato got the other one and merely did the same thing Kakuzu did, pointing between the two of them. When it came to describe it using one word, Konan got one and just said “Deidara’s” and Hidan got the other saying “fuck”. The way he said it made Obito want to throw him out a window. Time to add Hidan to the kill list.

When they started up another round, Obito switched places with Rin so she had a chance to play and the teams were switched around slightly. While Obito let the timer on his phone count down, he moved to the kitchen to gather water for those that needed it. He was sure Deidara was going to crash hard tonight and Asuma was going to be right behind him. The rest of them were on the edge, such as Kakashi who was fading in and out of laughter and zoned out watching.   
Thankfully with this new round, some of the cards were aimed at Konan such as “horoscope freak” which he particularly enjoyed. Konan was very into those and she was vowing to castrate whoever it was that wrote it. She currently suspected Kisame, but Nagato was smirking behind his drink when it was first read. Poor man better hope she never saw that or he might be groups newest female. 

Around three am people were deciding to call it quits. Deidara was already passed out on the side of the couch, just as Obito had suspected would happen, and the rest were getting close. Some of them he had managed to sober up enough so they could walk back to their respective apartments, but others would have to stay here for tonight. 

Itachi joined him as he attempted to lift Deidara from his awkward couch positioning. “Need help?”

Obito pulled Deidara up by the arm and slung it over his shoulder. “If you could get my bedroom door, that would be great.”

Itachi rushed ahead of him to open it and get out of the way. Obito managed to get Deidara on the side closest to the bathroom and was in the midst of tying his hair up when Itachi returned with a glass of water. “Advil is under the sink.” He told his cousin before making his way back to the living room. Yamato was helping Asuma to his feet so they could get him to Kurenai’s car. The man wasn’t gone yet, but he was going to need some help walking. 

Zetsu looked over from where he was trying unsuccessfully to return the deck of cards to the box. “Yo, Dei staying here?”

Obito nodded to him. “He’s in no condition to move.” He glanced around the room. “I’m thinking Kakuzu might join him.”

“Screw you, I’m fine.” Kakuzu said, contrary to him balancing heavily on the back of the sofa. 

“Not enough to drive. Go lay down.”

Kakuzu looked to argue a moment but frowned. “I can take the couch.”

Obito scoffed at the idea. “Not on your life. It’s much easier to replace a mattress cover than it is a cushion for a couch. Seriously, man, go on.”

“You just want me to keep an eye on that idiot…” he muttered but obeyed in the end. It wasn’t true at all, in fact Kakuzu would probably be asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Itachi followed after him a moment later, bringing water and an Advil. Obito had to give his cousin some credit, he was preparing everyone for the morning after. They were all going to be singing their praises to him or the porcelain god in the morning. 

A hand grabbing on to his arm made Obito turn away from where he had been facing to see Kakashi being supported by Yamato. His cheeks were flushed from the alcohol, but he was still wearing a look that said he was awfully pleased with himself.

“I had fun.” He said quietly, tiredness hinting its way into his voice. 

Obito could have thought of a million things to retort to that, but in the end he just grinned back. “Yeah, me too.”

“Thanks for hosting, Obito.” Yamato said with a nod. He hadn’t drunk as much as the rest of them and had sobered up by the end of the night. “Are you going to need any help around here?”

“Nah,” he responded, “Just take care of yourself and Kakashi. I’ll make sure the rest of these guys live to feel their hangovers tomorrow.”

Yamato gave a laugh at that then said his goodbyes, pulling Kakashi towards the door. Obito watched them go, amused by the fact that Kakashi was pointing things out to his roommate as if Yamato had never seen them before. Such as the picture frame on the wall, or the welcome mat in front of the door that he proceeded to then trip over. Somehow Kakashi being a happy drunk didn’t come as a surprise to him, but Kakashi acting like a child was definitely something Obito should remember in the future. 

As they exited, he went to gather the rest of his friends. Zetsu was heading back to his own apartment, Hidan was being wheeled out by Sasori, Kisame was attempting to find where his car keys were hidden, and Konan was just visible in her room already passed out on her bed. Itachi was currently grabbing the delirious Nagato from swirling a quarter on their dining room table. 

“Don’t drop him down the stairs.” Obito laughed when he saw Nagato begin playing with Itachi’s long hair.

His cousin gave him a dull look. “I might drop him on the apartment floor and let him sleep there if he doesn’t stop soon.”

Nagato took a long moment to process that then pouted. “Will I at least get a pillow and blanket?”

“Debatable. Night, Tobi.”

“Night, Itachi.” He followed the last of them to the door and locked it behind them. 

Slowly, Obito turned around to observe the mess that his apartment was in. All in all, it wasn’t the worst he had seen them all do, but it would take some cleaning. They had wood floors so any spills could be easily cleaned, but he was going to have to move everything to get under the furniture. At least he didn’t have to worry about waking up those asleep in the bedrooms, but Itachi might not appreciate the noise coming from upstairs. Sighing, he walked towards the hall closet and took out the broom. May as well get started now while he had nothing better to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone is curious as to the visual I had in mind for their apartment layout, look up "ninth street luxury apartment" on google. It took a long time to find a floor plan I liked that looked more like an apartment and less like a dorm.


	4. Morning After

When Kakashi finally woke up the following Sunday morning, it was only because his phone was making obnoxious noises. The notifications coming from his phone may as well have been a ringtone with how it kept going. His limbs felt heavy, but he managed to army crawl across his bed to where the phone sat on the dresser. How it was still alive after being off the charger all night, he’d never know. A glass of water sat next to it, but he opted to ignore it for now. 

Notifications were popping up for the Groupme he was a part of with all of his friends, and from the looks of it the conversation had been going on the past five minutes. He rubbed some sleep from his eyes before scrolling up a bit.

> Konan: _Will one of you check on Obito? I tried calling him, but he hasn’t answered yet._  
>  Zetsu: _I was there earlier this morning to pick up Deidara. Obito was washing bedsheets. Unless he’s been robbed in the past few hours, I’m sure he’s fine._  
>  Nagato: _She’s probably worried that he left the stove on or something._  
>  Konan: _He’s got work today and I don’t think he set an alarm._  
> 

The conversation was followed by a few random pictures or gifs relating to Obito’s being tardy or Konan’s motherly questioning. Some were rather creative gifs and had Kakashi smiling in spite of still being in a tired state. Kakuzu popped in to tell everyone to shut the hell up so he could sleep which only responded in more pictures sent his way. Good thing he lived far away, or he could imagine Kakuzu coming to someone’s door and breaking it down to beat the hell out of them. The man probably had a hangover after challenging Asuma for half of the night.

> Kakashi: _Konan, are you texting at work?_  
>  Konan: _I’m on my break._  
>  Itachi: _You work literally less than ten minutes away. Check on him yourself._  
>  Konan: _I would but for some reason we are really packed. A bunch of women in church clothing. I never had this problem in Chikyū._  
>  Kakashi: _I can check on him._  
>  Zetsu: _Aw, look at that. Prince Charming checking on Sleeping Beauty._  
>  Kisame: _He’s going to kill you, Zetsu xD_  
>  Rin: _Obito or Kakashi?_  
>  Konan: _Both_  
>  Itachi: _Both_  
>  Nagato: _Don’t forget, Kakashi, if he’s asleep with his shoes on you’re allowed to draw on him._  
>  Hidan: _Take pictures if you do._  
>  Hidan: _Scratch that, take pictures regardless. We need a good laugh._  
>  Konan: _If the front door isn’t unlocked already, swing by my work and I’ll hand you my key. Also, his is the room on the left._  
>  Sasori: _Why would the front door be unlocked?_  
>  Konan: _Because I live with a man with no sense of security._  
> 

Well that wasn’t a good habit to fall into. Despite their apartment complex being gated and more expensive than the average person could afford while attending college, he still wouldn’t put it past someone of the community from ‘accidentally’ walking into someone else’s room. Yamato might actually die if someone were to come into their apartment and steal his $1,000+ desktop setup.

> Kisame: _Even Deidara isn’t that neglectful. How has Tobi not had things stolen before?_  
>  Zetsu: _He has. You remember when Jirobo tried to steal his Xbox back in Sophomore year?_  
>  Kisame: _That big kid with the stupid haircut?_  
>  Sasori: _You’ve effectively described half of our school population. Congrats._  
>  Kisame: _I think he was on the football team._  
>  Konan: _Yep. That’s the one. Same pig that asked me out._  
>  Zetsu: _Obito kicked his ass for that. Good times._  
>  Kakuzu: _He got suspended and camped out at my house during the day so his uncle wouldn’t find him._  
>  Hidan: _Hi, Kakuzu, welcome back_  
>  Asuma: _Hey, bro, how’s your head._  
>  Kakuzu: _Fuck you, that’s how it is._  
>  Asuma: _:D_  
>  Konan: _Drink some water. You’ve got no one to blame but yourself. Wait, Kakuzu, have you already left the apartment?_  
>  Kakuzu: _I was gone before you woke up. Deidara snores like a train wreck._  
>  Zetsu: _He STILL is._  
> 

Kakashi hummed amusingly and pushed himself from the mattress to stretch. He hadn’t been so far gone last night that he couldn’t change before crawling into bed, but he still smelled like crap. That and he felt the serious need to brush his teeth fifty times. Placing his phone on the charger, he b-lined for the bathroom and took his toothbrush into the shower with him.

He was in and out in just a few short minutes – he’d never know how girls could take extremely long showers, the long hair excuse was total crap – and dressed into some sweatpants and a tank top. His shoes lay abandoned just in front of his closet; it wasn’t like he was going to have to go very far to check on his next door neighbor. 

On the way out of his own apartment, Kakashi grabbed the glass of water from his nightstand. It was already 1:00 pm and the air was warm when he stepped outside. Some community members were outside with their dogs which only made Kakashi think of his own back home. He had eight that his dad was taking care of while he convinced Yamato that they needed all of them in their apartment at once. Kakashi couldn’t bring himself to only take one as they had been together since they were puppies. It wasn’t going so well at the moment, but he was sure Yamato would come around eventually. After all, who could resist the idea of being surrounded by a bunch of puppies at once?

Kakashi crossed the few feet separating their two apartments and knocked on the front door. Part of him expected Obito to answer it immediately as he usually did when Kakashi came to get him on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Although different classes, he and Obito had a similar time schedule and carpooled to the school together.

This, however, was not one of those times. When Obito didn’t answer after the second knock, Kakashi tried the door. Humorously and sadly, it opened. Obito really was going to get himself robbed one day – again – and Konan might kill him for it. 

The first thing that he noticed was the smell of cleaning materials. The only smell in the air was from Lysol wipes or whatever Obito had used to clean the floors rather than the food they had ordered that night or the drinks they had made. Traveling further into the apartment, he noticed everything absolutely spotless. The chairs had been put back, table wiped down, trash taken out, and even a candle was burning mixing into the living room clean smell. With how flowery it was, it must have been Konan that picked it out. Kakashi could also hear music coming from the television, although it had been turned down considerably. He could just make out a song that must have been some version of EDM. It wasn’t until he passed the wall that covered the side of the island in the kitchen that he found who he was looking for. 

Still holding onto Lysol wipe in one hand, Obito had fallen asleep with his head resting on one arm. He was wearing something similar to Kakashi except his tank top was one of those that had been shredded all the way down the side – something that was stereotypical of guys who consistently to the gym. Given that Obito frequented that particular establishment, it was no surprised he also owned one. Plus, it gave Kakashi an attractive view to the toned muscles that the Uchiha usually hid. How many hours had he dedicated to earn those? 

Knowing they were the only two in the apartment, there was hardly a need to check to see if anyone else was around. Deidara and Kakuzu were the only ones to spend the night and they were already gone, and Konan wouldn’t be asking anyone to check on Obito if she were still here. 

He set the glass down on the counter then crossed the kitchen to the island. As carefully as he could without waking up the other man, he removed the rag from his grip and tossed it in the closest trash. He then went into the living room and turned the TV off, but not before catching the name of the song for a later time. Monstercat? When he returned to the kitchen, he pulled his phone out to text Konan that Obito was fine, but paused. If he put that in the group chat, he might get badgered for blackmail pictures. That would just lead to a bunch of complicated things he had no interest in dealing with. Instead, he pulled up her number specifically and sent a simple text.

> Kakashi: _He’s passed out in the kitchen._  
>  Konan: _Idiot._  
> 

He smiled and replaced the phone to his pocket, glancing towards Obito again and wondering what he should do. All he was asked to do was check on him, and as far as he could tell Obito was fine. The only thing he had to do was leave and lock the door behind him, but at the same time he also knew how uncomfortable it was to sleep on a hard surface.  
Remembering that Zetsu mentioned that Obito had been doing laundry, Kakashi walked to the corner of the kitchen where the door to Obito’s room was located before peering in. Obito had black out curtains in his room that were still closed, probably to help with Deidara’s or Kakuzu's hangover that they undoubtedly had, leaving the rest of the room rather dark. He could still see clearly though, as sunlight would not be completely denied. Kakashi checked to see that Obito was still asleep before walking in uninvited.

Spy mode activated, he treaded lightly on his toes to make sure he wasn’t making noise as he explored. To the wall immediately left was a bookshelf filled with school books, personal books, or video game cases. His 3DS was sitting there as well. Right next to it was a desk with what looked to be a hand built computer and very large monitor. No doubt it doubled as a television as well. The next wall contained a door to his closet and bathroom, but Kakashi walked past both. The next wall had another smaller shelf on it, this one contained a picture of Obito’s parents and a few binders. Unable to stop himself from snooping, he opened one of them up. Pokémon cards. Another one had Yugio cards. Could Obito get any nerdier?

The bed had been completely made, and looking underneath the cover showed the clean sheets underneath. Obito must have just put that on, which made him wonder if he had cleaned Konan’s things as well. A large picture frame hung on the wall behind the bed with a painted image of Chikyū city from a distant view. It was very well made, and upon closer inspection he found a signature in the bottom right half of the frame: Deidara. Whoa, Deidara could paint? Kakashi had a whole new respect for him when it came to art. He had only heard Deidara talk about sculpting; he had no idea the guy knew how to paint with such detail before. 

Kakashi took a moment longer to glance around the room before making for the exit. He already felt a little guilty for snooping without asking, and figured now was as good as time as ever to leave. Yet right before he got to the door, he noticed the title of one of the books Obito had on the shelf. It was titled “Memories”. Unable to resist, he picked it up and flipped to the front of the book. He had expected it to be a written journal, but instead found it to be a photo album. The first one was a baby which he soon figured out to be Obito with his parents completely caught up in the moment rather than smiling for the picture. The next page was Obito’s parents holding the child in the hospital room as their first family photo. The next was toddler Obito in a house that Kakashi didn’t recognize with a man he didn’t know. Could that have been his uncle? Kakashi knew a good amount of Obito’s immediate family, he figured he couldn’t be far from the truth. The young version of his friend was holding on to the older man's pants, glancing curiously upwards at him while the older man was frowning down at him.

The next picture was one that Kakashi knew very well. It was Obito back in second grade when they had first met. Both of them had been around 7-8 years old. In this picture, Obito was grinning widely holding his school bag while his mother zipped up his jacket. The next image was Obito in fourth grade, fast asleep on the sofa with an arm hanging off not too far from a basketball. 

Then the pictures took a turn and the next one was Obito in about seventh grade. This was now after he had left to move with his uncle without any word to Kakashi or anyone else. In the picture he was with the rest of his class, but he didn’t look the same. No giant grin, no enthusiastic look, he was glancing off to the side with a bored and uninterested look. Kakashi remembered Itachi telling him that Obito had been in the car accident with his parents, so he could only assume that Obito had become distant. After all, he had lost his memories and moved somewhere new. Did he even have friends at that point? Kakashi didn’t recognize any of their current friends amongst any of the classmates. 

The next was high school age, although it was unclear around what grade he was in. Obito was standing within a ring in shorts only against someone Kakashi didn’t recognize again. This must be the MMA club that he had joined. Yet what made the picture wasn’t Obito looking all tough, but the white haired man in the background yelling like crazy: Hidan. Konan was looking at him with a look that would have silenced a child while a few others around them were laughing. Funny how he didn’t see Obito’s uncle there to support him. As a guardian, he would have expected Madara to support Obito in any way that his parents couldn't have.

The next picture was one that Kakashi recognized as the U-Haul Obito had attached to his truck when he moved in. Only this time they were loading it up in front of what he assumed to be Obito’s house or the house of one of their friends. He had a grin on his face, holding a particularly large box, but his gaze was on Nagato who was attempting to pick up something that must have been terribly heavy considering the face he was making. The picture after that was similar although it had Konan in the forefront taking a selfie. 

Kakashi expected that to be the end, but he flipped it one more time to be sure and was shocked to find an image of himself there. Not just him, but Asuma, Kurenai, and Rin as well. They were all at the Slug bar sitting around the bar with the rest of the group, taking up all of the chairs. Obito was looking flustered, trying to meet all of their demands while Tsunade grinned like an evil dictator in the background. He didn’t remember this picture being taken, but he could only assume it would have been Dan to take it. That man could be sneaky when he wanted to be. 

Kakashi felt a rush of warmth go through him as he closed the book and returned it to the shelf. Not even Rin had kept a physical copy of them all despite her love of taking pictures to put on Instagram all the time. He left the room, his eyes looking towards Obito in a new light. As much as the man enjoyed giving them all hell and pretending he didn’t care, it was endearing to find that he considered them such a big part of his life. In Obito’s world, he had only known them a month. It normally took someone longer to warm up completely to another person. Yet just like when they were younger, Obito was always the one to quickly make friends. 

Kakashi leaned against the island, resting his head on his hand and looking down at the other man. He was just as much of a mystery as he had been the night they met at the bar, but so many of his characteristics were the same as when Kakashi knew him as kids. How could someone be so different yet the same? Before he could stop himself, he reached forward to run his hands lightly through Obito’s hair. Unlike his own, Obito’s was soft to the touch almost like multiple strands of silk. 

He wondered what would happen if he showed Obito a picture of himself when he was younger but with Kakashi and Rin. Would he maybe remember them a little bit? Or would he just be confused? There was a good chance he might not even want to see it. Itachi said that he had been awake in the accident when the paramedics found him. If Kakashi pried too much, he might remember all of that. But then it might not have anything to do with the accident. Obito might legitimately not want to know, because he might fear how it would change his perspective on his life now. 

As he toyed with the hair just behind Obito’s ears, he made a decision to not bring it up. As much as he wanted Obito to remember the relationship they had, he wouldn’t want to bring pain with it. Plus, he was okay with how things were at the moment. After so many years, they were friends again and he didn’t want anything to come between that again. On that note, he remembered earlier why he had gone to check Obito’s room. To make sure there were sheets on his bed. If he could get away with it, he could easily carry Obito to his room before leaving. Despite not taking a weightlifting class, Kakashi was still a fairly fit guy. He pulled his hand away and stepped back to make his way around the table. 

“Why’d you stop?”

Kakashi’s heart nearly stopped as he froze mid step. Oh crap, Obito had been awake. For how long? “You’re awake?” Idiot, of course he’s awake. He wouldn’t be speaking otherwise. He could slap himself for asking such a stupid thing.

Obito’s eyes opened slowly and he tilted his head just enough to look up at Kakashi. “Yeah.”

“How long?”

“Just now.” He stretched his back, hearing it pop in response, then sighed and closed his eyes again. 

Kakashi breathed a silent sigh of relief. So he hadn’t heard him snooping earlier. “Why didn’t you say anything then?”

“Because you would have stopped.” He mumbled, still not getting up. 

Kakashi backtracked a couple of steps to place himself back in front of Obito, curiously looking him over. How sure could he be that Obito wasn’t sleep talking right now? He wanted Kakashi to _continue_? Testing the theory, he placed his hands back on Obito’s head and allowed his fingers to run back through his hair. The fact that Obito all but melted at the touch confirmed it. 

“Why aren’t you in your room?” Kakashi asked, enjoyed the new free reign he had. The only thing that answered him was a shrug he almost missed. “Konan was concerned about you.”

Obito gave a grunt or a laugh, Kakashi wasn’t sure which one but they both said the same thing. “Figures.”

“I was told to take blackmail pictures.” Kakashi said casually, moving his hand near the base of Obito’s neck.

Obito’s mouth twitched slightly on the edge into a half smile. “You take them?”

“Not yet.” He admitted, moving his hand back up and enjoying how it fell through his fingers. “You woke up before I could plan anything.”

Judging from how the smile widened, he knew Obito was calling his bluff. 

It fell silent for a while between them, with Kakashi pulling softly on the small strands and Obito’s relaxed breathing the only thing breaking the silence. Kakashi’s mind drifted, wondering what Obito was thinking about right now. He could be wondering why Kakashi was in his apartment rather than one of their other friends, or he could be running through a list of things to clean. Actually, he may have just fallen back asleep.

“Obito?”

“Mm?”

Yeah, he was definitely on his way to falling back asleep. “Do you want me to leave? You’re clearly about to go to sleep on me.”

Obito was silent for a moment but then lifted himself up causing Kakashi’s hands to fall away. His brought both of his own up to rub at his eyes then finally met Kakashi’s gaze with what he assumed was his best ‘I’m awake now’ face. Strangely enough it reminded him of a child who was trying to convince their parent to let them stay up past bedtime. “I’m alright.” He said, using words that perfectly fit the mental image. “You can stay.”

“You sure?” Kakashi asked skeptically, expecting Obito to just fall asleep again. 

The teasing look came over Obito again, just as it usually did when he was with his friends. “You seem to be asking me that a lot lately.”

Kakashi was about to ask what he meant when he remembered asking Obito the same thing last night. That was right before…

Obito now openly laughed as he watched Kakashi’s face change colors. “Oh, now you have the ability to be embarrassed.” He laughed again and stood up to stretch, the table not doing wonders for his joints. “You looked so pleased with yourself last night.”

He could only imagine what that must have looked like. Thank God no one decided to take pictures last night of him. He might actually die. “Did I?”

“Check Rin’s Instagram.”

Oh hell no. 

The Uchiha watched in amusement as Kakashi took his phone out and opened the app to find his friend. A few seconds of scrolling later, his face went from pink to red. Not only was he seeing himself being a drunk idiot, but he was seeing sneak pictures of the exact moment where they had been making out. Obito had discovered them only just this morning and by that time it had been too late to get revenge shots. 

“Oh my God.” Kakashi mumbled, covering his face and groaning. 

Obito circled around the island and slapped him lightly on the back. “At least they’re good shots. Could have been a lot worse.”

“How are you okay with this?” Kakashi’s voice was muffled by his hand. “All we need is for a future employer to see it.”

“Oh no, my current or future boss might find out I’m into dudes,” Obito gasped mockingly. “The horror.” He opened one of the cabinets and set a pan on the stove. “Omelet?” 

He looked over and saw Kakashi still looking through all the pictures of that night, clearly distracted by them. To be fair, Obito already had his slightly freak out moment and empty threats towards Rin, but in the end he refused to let it bother him. It wasn’t like he had an Instagram to be tagged in, so whoever was searching him out had to try really hard to find it. Plus, it reflected more on Rin than it did him. The only concerning fact was how he felt about Kakashi’s reaction to it. Horror could be easily followed by regret. 

“Was it really that bad?” he asked, pulling the eggs, cheese, spinach, ham, and tomatoes from his fridge. 

Kakashi finally pulled his eyes from the phone. “Was what?”

“Kissing me.”

It was comical watching Kakashi shift his eyes from Obito, to the wall, to Obito, then turning away again. “Ah, no, it was great actually.”

Obito’s spirits lifted instantly, his earlier anxiety gone. He turned to the pan with new enthusiasm, grinning to himself as he worked on making breakfast. He probably shouldn’t have been as happy to receive that response as he was. As the eggs were poured into the pan, he worked on cutting up the slices of ham and tomatoes. “I’m going to assume you haven’t eaten anything yet. Grab yourself something to drink and sit down. Anything you don’t want on your omelet?”

“I’ll eat whatever you make.” Kakashi grabbed his water cup from earlier and took the seat that Obito had occupied moments earlier, pushing the phone aside before he had a chance to go through those pictures again. What had shocked him after realizing what the picture was had been the fact that Obito looked like he was actually enjoying it. The way he had been holding Kakashi to him, eagerly accepting anything Kakashi had to offer. The images were mesmerizing. It made all the feelings from last night come back without the help of alcohol to merely accept it all. Now his mind was filled with the fact that while he had been drunk, Obito had been one hundred percent sober and was completely okay with everything that happened. In fact, Kakashi couldn’t even bring himself to apologize for acting like an idiot because he was afraid if he did, Obito might take it as an insult. Then again, the possibility of Obito laughing at him was just as likely.

Why had Obito gone along with it? He got that it was a game amongst a bunch of people drinking and with friends it probably didn't mean anything. Kakashi had been drinking so any normal restraints he would have had were gone, yet Obito had been completely coherent. Did his friend really not care who he made out with, or was it because he didn't want to be the killjoy of the party? Kakashi didn't even want to think about the fact that last night had been his birthday and that might have been the only reason Obito was alright with it. 

Now here he was, supposed to be checking in on Obito to make sure he was alright, and now he was getting breakfast served to him like last night was no big deal. Obito should be sleeping right now after having to take care of them all night. 

Kakashi swirled the water around in his cup, dragging his thoughts away from their intimate moment. “When did you go to sleep after we left?”

“I didn’t.”

Pulling an all-nighter wasn’t uncommon in college kids, but Kakashi remembered that Obito had also worked the night shift the night before. “Did you take a nap at all yesterday before people came over.”

“Nope.” Obito kept working as if nothing was wrong. 

Kakashi set his cup on the counter, now actually worried about the man in front of him. “When was the last time you actually got rest?”

“About thirty minutes before you walked in.” Obito answered casually, adding ingredients to the omelet before folding it. 

Kakashi gasped at him. “You should seriously fix your sleeping schedule.”

“Yes, mom.” Obito slid the food onto a plate and slid it in front of Kakashi with a fork before returning to the stove to clean off the pan. “I’ll get right on that.”

Resisting the urge to lecture Obito on the human need to sleep, he instead took a bite of food. He should feel bad for keeping his friend up for so long, but Obito had plenty of time to rest before the party last night. Setting everything up would only take an hour or two at the most and there was plenty of time to catch up on rest. After this, he was going to leave so that Obito would have nothing better to do than to go to sleep. Staying up for three days was pushing it for the mind. How he wasn’t a zombie right now was a miracle.

Obito finished his omelet not too long after and joined Kakashi after grabbing some water for himself as well. Rather than sit, he merely took over the spot Kakashi had stood before leaving their roles completely reversed. “What’re your plans for today?”

“Grocery shopping at some point. Stop by the vet clinic. You?”

Obito glanced behind him at the clock over the stove. “There’s a raid for Destiny with my clan in about fifteen minutes. I’ll probably join.”

“Dude,” Kakashi started in a pressed voice, “Go to sleep.”

“Did you think that just because you left I would? You seriously underestimate my priorities.” Obito laughed at him. 

Kakashi shook his head. “I hope you're not staying awake just to prove you can. You’re going to let your clan down when you pass out in the middle of it.”

“They’ll take care of me.” He said confidently. “Why don’t you stick around? I’ll hand you the headset and you can talk with them.”

Somehow Kakashi had the thought that Obito was trying to stay awake just to spite him. What was he trying to prove by showing he could stay up for three days in a row? That he was the ultimate college kid? 

“If I left you now you might fall asleep on the floor next.”

“That’s the spirit.” Obito said encouragingly. He finished off the rest of his breakfast and washed them off in the sink before heading into the living room. 

Kakashi followed at a slower pace, making sure that Nagato wasn’t going to be right about Obito leaving the stove on or anything stupid like that. If Obito could forget to leave the front door locked, who knew what else he would do. When he joined Obito in the living room, he had already started up the game and planted himself in the middle of the couch. Kakashi couldn’t help but draw up the parallels between the current and child Obito as he sat to his right as he used to do in the past. The only difference was they had been playing Crash Bandicoot rather than Destiny. 

Obito handed Kakashi a headset that looked like it was probably $50+ and began finding his online friends through Xbox live. There was a faint click and suddenly a rush of voices welcoming back ‘Kamui’ erupted from the headset. Kakashi hesitated, glancing sideways at a smirking Obito, before going, “Uh.”

Obito leaned in towards Kakashi who took way too long to realize he was aiming for the mic attached. “Hey guys, I got Kakashi on the headset.”

“He got the bookworm!” the voices rang out. 

Kakashi tried his best to not be offended but couldn’t help the pout that overcame him. Bookworm? The man next to him offered a guilty look but offered no explanation as he joined the game. It took a minute for them to find each other, but soon they were all dancing in a circle together. When they had their group prepared, they all joined together and traveled to the location that their raid would take place. 

Kakashi had to admit it looked to be a very appealing game and watching how quickly invested Obito became in it, he could see how people came to like it. Good graphics, fun multiplayer, and the voices coming through the headsets were clearly used to working together. They didn’t constantly pick fun of each other to the extent that Obito did with the rest of their group of friends, but they supported each other in other ways. It was a good change of pace. Occasionally one would pass a question to Kakashi asking him to confirm a rumor. Apparently he was known to be a bookworm that got distracted easily and lived with a hippie. Either Obito was spreading rumors, or they were coming to their own conclusions about his life, or they were simply trying to mess with him in an innocent way. 

About twenty minutes into their game, Obito had his character duck behind a ridge and handed the control to Kakashi. “Here, you try it.”

At a total loss of what the controls were, Kakashi quickly tried to figure everything out while asking questions. Both Obito and those online answered at the same time which only made it more difficult to grasp. However, he found that Obito’s earlier claim was correct, his team was helping guard him while he figured it out. 

Obito got into a more comfortable position next to him to watch, sliding on leg under the other and slouching slightly. He crossed his arms over his chest and offered some tips as Kakashi needed them. How to access his vehicle, where to aim on the enemies, what techniques to use. Soon Kakashi was able to hold his own without completely dragging the rest of the team down. It was a lot more fun than he previously gave it credit for and Kakashi soon found himself immersed in the game. He attempted to protect those who had aided him without getting shot, allowing others to charge in and take lead while he took on a more supportive role. Obito’s advice came less and less as Kakashi figured the game out, following the group to new areas of the map and gaining experience. 

About thirty minutes into playing, Kakashi felt Obito slump against his arm. He didn’t even have to look to realize the man had fallen asleep on him; he had expected it to happen. He tried to adjust himself to make Obito more comfortable as he continued playing, now self-conscious about the clicking he was making with the controller. 

“How long are these raids?” he asked the people through the headsets. 

One of the members named Techn0Bumy answered, “About an hour and a half depending on how quickly we take it. I’m going to assume Kamui fell asleep?”

Kakashi gave a small laugh. “Yeah.”

Another guy spoke through the laughter, “I assumed that was going to happen when he handed the controller off. He usually does that to his female roommate so he can take a nap while she gets him experience.”

“You can log off unless you feel like continuing. We’re not a hardcore group.” The first voice spoke. 

Kakashi debated it for a moment but in the end decided to agree with them. “Sorry, guys.”

“Tell Kamui next time he hands the controller off to give it to you again. You catch on much faster than the girl he usually gives it to.”

What would Konan say if she heard that? Probably say something along the lines of not being useless and argue that she can be better. Or she might just hand the controller back to Obito. “Will do.” He exited the game and turned the console off. Setting the controller and headset on the table next to the couch, he finally glanced down at Obito wondering how to get up without waking him up.

The couch was a much better alternative to let him sleep than the island table, but Kakashi still felt the need to do better than that. As slowly and carefully as he could, he slipped one arm around Obito’s shoulders while twisting to get off the couch. It was awkward and he was sure Obito was going to wake up at any moment, but luckily this time he remained asleep. Kakashi made some quick adjustments then lifted him up, careful not to wiggle around too much in the process. Now it was just a matter of avoiding furniture and doorways on the way to Obito’s bedroom.

There was a close call with a lamp, but after leaving the living room it was much easier. He had Obito cradled closely to him so he could squeeze through the doorway and into the room. Only after he got there did he curse himself for not moving the sheets down beforehand. He had the thought to try and move it with his foot, but wasn’t sure he was quite balanced enough to try it and ended up just setting Obito on top of all the covers.

Almost as soon as Obito’s back hit the bed, he turned on his side and put one of his arms underneath the pillow. Kakashi had thought for a moment that he had woken up and waited for him to say something, but his breathing remained the same and he didn’t move again. Kakashi allowed his breathing to continue, not realizing he had held it, and left him alone to sleep. He grabbed on to his empty water cup and made for the exit after making sure the rest of everything had been turned off. Before he left the apartment for good, he sent another text to Konan.

> Kakashi: _What time does he have work today?_  
>  Konan: _He told me 6-12. They decided to let me out a little early today, so I can make sure he makes it._  
>  Kakashi: _They sure like making him work late._  
>  Konan: _Those are the shifts he asks for. He still asleep?_  
>  Kakashi: _He was awake earlier and mentioned that this was his third day without sleep. He fell asleep again not that long ago._  
>  Konan: _Idiot._

He couldn’t really argue with her. Trying to stay awake three days in a row when you had a night shift and school the next day was incredibly stupid. Kakashi was about to replace the phone to his pocket when it went off again.

> Konan: _Thanks for checking on him. You would probably take better care of him than the rest of our friends._  
> 

Kakashi wanted to laugh as he tried to imagine Kisame or Hidan taking care of him. They would either do pranks or simply leave him there after making sure he wasn’t dead. Rin might try and give him a pillow since she couldn’t carry him, and the rest might try and wake him up and force him to his room. Kakashi supposed that his route was a little less direct, but it worked out in the end.

> Kakashi: _Anytime._  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a note, things are revealed every chapter. There's loads I have planned for the shared background of Obito and Kakashi, so what might seem like weird reactions/situations now makes sense later :)


	5. Rewinded

“Yo, Yamato. Been a while.” 

The dark haired man looked up from where he had been sitting out on the quad of Konoha’s campus. He had half a sandwich sitting next to him on a napkin and an open architect book on his lap. “I live with you, dude.”

“Yeah, but we haven’t hung out in a while. How’s class?” KAkashi dropped down next to his roommate and pulled out a bag of Doritos he had been saving in his bag.

Yamato sighed, gesturing lazily over his book. “Planning group project stuff. Aren’t you supposed to be in class right now?”

“Sick teacher.” Kakashi pulled out his phone to their shared group chat. “Kurenai wants to throw a Thanksmas party.”

Yamato made a mark on the side of his book, a trait that was no longer frowned upon in college as it had been in high school. “I think she’s bored now that she graduated. She doesn’t normally try to plan stuff like this.”

Kakashi shrugged. “She’s been texting Konan a lot from what I hear. Sometimes she sets Konan up on blind dates.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because Obito runs away to our apartment when she brings them over. He says they’re all military types and if he has to hear one more patriotic thing about how much they love their country, he’s going to decorate her room in Captain America propaganda.”

Yamato chuckled at that, easily imagining their neighbors going to the lengths to initiate a roommate war. Konan was very against Marvel movies and loved DC where Obito was the opposite. How those two were surviving together was a mystery to them all. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with Obito lately. I don’t remember you actively going out of your way to meet with people since Rin.”

“Really? I haven’t noticed.” Kakashi responded absently, scrolling through the chat more. The truth was he realized that already and was trying to figure himself out over that fact. He knew he was hanging out with Obito more since the night of his birthday, but he was coming to see that he wasn’t doing it out of wanting to be better friends. Just like in the past, he was developing feelings for Obito again.

The only difference was that this time around, Obito was in much better control of his emotions. Kakashi couldn’t tell if Obito even liked him back or only considered him a friend. He hadn’t said or done anything since Kakashi’s birthday that suggested that anything had changed between them, and - although petty - Kakashi didn’t want to be the first to ask. He wanted to maintain Obito’s relationship more than anything, but his growing feelings were complicating everything.

He pulled his back up against the tree that Yamato was sitting against and allowed the conversation to slowly die out. There was another hour or so before his next class which gave him plenty of time to relax, and he figured Yamato wouldn’t mind the company while he worked. It was just like old times when they were still becoming friends, except last time they had been in a library with their faces in books trying to interpret poetry that made little to no sense. 

So while his roommate worked, Kakashi allowed himself to reflect on past memories of his early childhood. Specifically remembering the moment Obito first told him that he had feelings for him. At the time, Kakashi had been incredibly shocked since he thought for the longest time that Obito liked Rin. It had led to their first legit argument in a long time, and surprisingly Rin had never found out what it had been about. They must have been in fifth grade at the time. 

**Around 14 years ago**  
“Kakashi, did you finish the math homework?!” Obito was completely panicked, grabbing Kakashi by his shoulders and nearly shaking the life out of him.

Kakashi calmly detached the boy from him and frowned. “You didn’t do it again?”

“I completely forgot!” Obito all but wailed at him. “Can I copy yours?”

In the past, Kakashi would have said yes but he was beginning to notice a pattern here. “You have time to do it now before class. Do it yourself.”

“I forgot my calculator.”

His frown deepening, he opened the side pocket on his backpack and handed his own over. What an absolutely terrible excuse. There were multiple calculators online or apps he could have used. Their problems weren't that complicated. “Here, you only have to do the even numbers.”

Obito looked miserably at the calculator, to Kakashi, then back and sighed as if the world were on his shoulders. Still, he opened his own bag and pulled out his textbook and paper. They were on their lunch period right now which gave him a little under an hour to complete thirty math problems and eat. 

Kakashi remained silent as he watched the boy in front of him slowly sink further and further towards his book. Pretty soon his face was inches from the page and his pencil was clicking annoyingly fast on the table. If he glared any more at that paper, he was going to burn a hole in it. Kakashi was sure if he looked close enough or waited the appropriate amount of time, he might see smoke leaving his friends ears. Rin joined them with her own tray a minute later and looked between the two of them. “Not letting him copy?” 

Sad how even she was seeing the pattern of Obito’s unfinished work.

“He won’t learn if I keep letting him do that. How will he pass the test?”

Rin looked slightly reluctant but nodded along. Five problems in, Obito groaned again and face planted the book. “I don’t understand this.”

Kakashi opened his arms towards Obito. “See? He’s already falling behind.”

Obito, realizing his friend was a lost cause in the help department, turned to Rin instead. “Help me.” His voice was so pathetic it was bound to pull on the heartstrings of his longest friend. Predictably, it worked.

Rin pulled her lips together in a small smile. “Sure, but you can’t copy mine either.” She scooted her chair closer to his and began helping him use the correct formula. Kakashi could easily imagine the gears in Obito's mind hitting overdrive as he tried to process the information at Mach speed and use it. 

When they only had ten minutes left and he had only done twelve problems, Rin gave in and allowed him to copy her work. Kakashi folded his arms crossly at her, but she merely shrugged and finished off the rest of her lunch. Obito’s remained completely untouched. He should have known Rin would be the first to cave. She was always helping Obito and enabling his bad habits; how was Obito going to learn to pick himself up unless he stumbled and fell on his own?

By the time the bell rang, the only thing Obito had succeeded in doing was finishing everything but the last problem. He gazed longingly at his food before tossing it out and running down the hall to their next class. Rin and Kakashi followed at a calmer pace, talking about their other shared classes. 

As their math class dragged on with all the students taking notes or doodling on the corners of their papers, Kakashi peeked down his isle to check on Obito. Only two seats ahead, Obito was staring unblinkingly at the poster at the front of the room. It was no wonder he didn’t do his homework. He couldn’t even pay attention in class! What was he even thinking about right now? Surely he couldn't have fallen asleep in class without the teacher noticing. 

Quietly as he could, Kakashi tore a piece of paper from his notebook, crumpled it, and tossed it at the back of Obito’s head right as the teacher turned away. Obito jumped so hard Kakashi could hear his knees hit the bottom of his desk. Whoops.

The teacher turned a startled glance to him. “Yes, Obito?”

“Thought I saw a spider.” Obito mumbled, rubbing his legs and looking down to hide his embarrassment. 

The classroom erupted in laughter and Kakashi felt a little guilty. He hadn’t anticipated that type of reaction. He would have to apologize to his friend later. Yet despite becoming the class clown to the day, Obito looked at the crumpled paper next to his desk and drew the lines in his head before looking over his shoulder at Kakashi. Expecting his friend to make empty threats at him, Kakashi’s eyes widened in shock when Obito smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up mouthing ‘thanks’. What?

The rest of their school day went more smoothly, but that was probably because the next class was science. It was one of the few classes where Obito’s grades were just as good as Kakashi’s. Strange because science was meant to be a class that majority of students had difficulty with. This class period they were having a test on all the names of the bones in the body. Some were easy to remember, but the little ones had weird names and there was no glossary for terms. Kakashi was naturally one of the first to finish his test and flipped it over on his desk, boredly placing his face in his hands and glancing around at all the things around the classroom he had seen a million times. Eventually his eyes came to rest on Obito again who was looking from his paper, to the ceiling, to poking his forehead like Winnie-the-Pooh, to writing furiously again. It would have been interesting to keep watching, but Kakashi didn't want the teacher to get the wrong idea that he was trying to help. Therefore he let his gaze continue on to Rin who was covering her face entirely with her hands. She didn't pick up her pencil for a long time, but by the time she did the test was nearly over and it was obvious she was just writing down the first thing that came to mind. 

When the day finally came to a close, Kakashi met up with the other two out in front of the school where they all walked back together. For the most part they lived close together and didn’t like taking the bus since one of them always had to sit next to a stranger. The bus seats didn't allow room for the three of them together. Rin had caught someone’s cold that way, and Obito insisted that they walked from then on to avoid germy people. Plus, he had insisted, the walk would make them all healthier. 

“I think I aced that test.” Obito said proudly, looking over his notes. “Although the spelling might not be all that good. I think I spelled vertebrae with an 'a' instead of 'e'.”

Rin glanced over his shoulder and cringed. “I missed phalanges.”

“The tiniest bones in the hand?” Obito laughed. “How did you miss that?”

“Shut up, Obito! You didn’t even do your math homework!” she retorted, successfully quieting him.

Kakashi raised his shoulders at the helplessness of his friend. “I mean, it would probably help if he didn’t fall asleep in class all the time.”

Obito stopped walking and leveled a pointed finger at Kakashi’s chest. “Well, how about instead of talking how bad I am at something, you tutor me?”

“Eh?”

Both of the boys seemed to be in shock over that statement, even Obito who was the one to say it. However, he quickly recovered and continued, “Y-Yeah, just what I said. You can teach me how to do math, and I won’t need to copy homework anymore!”

Kakashi’s felt like that was beyond stupid. “Just pay attention in class.”

“I think it’s a good idea.” Rin said, bumping between them before they could argue. “He’d be more likely to listen to a friend than a teacher, right? Plus, you’re the best in class anyways.”

“Right?” Obito agreed with her instantly. They both turned to Kakashi with such eagerness that Kakashi felt like he was being trapped. Especially with those tear eyed looks that were begging for him to help. Man, his friends could be really useless sometimes. 

He sighed, defeated and outnumbered. “Fine.”

The two of them cheered and high fived each other before continuing to walk ahead of him, drawing out plans for when Kakashi could come over to help. Obito cleverly tried to offer to tutor Rin as well when it came to science, but she waved that away. Apparently the thought of being taught by someone who slept in class was demeaning for her. Not that Kakashi blamed her, he wouldn’t want to be taught by Obito either. Who knew what his teaching methods were. Probably to just give her the answers or consistently define things as 'this one' or 'those'. 

They broke off with Rin in front of her house where her mother was waiting for her. They all said their goodbyes before Obito and Kakashi continued down the sidewalk. As usual, it became quiet now that Obito and Rin weren’t talking in rushed or excited tones, but Kakashi found he didn’t mind. He was used to the silence anyway and found it comforting after dealing with so many loud people at school. 

He cast a sideways glance at Obito, witnessing for the first time Obito being…thoughtful. Like he was seriously thinking about something. Usually that expression only came on his face when he was taking a test or playing a hard level in a game. Normally at this time, it was Obito that was continuing the conversation about something he had seen or talked about with his parents. He even regaled Kakashi with stories of his grandmother told him about how things used to be and how interesting it would be if applied to their current community. For example, how his grandmother used to have drive in theaters. Obito had expressed wanting to do something like that again, but since they were too young to drive they could set up a projector in the living room or outside. 

“Oi.” Kakashi broke his friend’s concentration. “When did you want me to teach you?”

To his amusement, Obito jumped a bit. “Oh, uh, I don’t know. How about today? My parents don’t get back until later anyways.”

“Sure.”

Obito smiled to himself which only succeeded in confusing Kakashi more. Since when was Obito so eager to learn? Anything to do with school was generally met by an abundance of long groans and complaints of how boring it was. To be fair, a lot of people did that, but it was making Kakashi suspicious. Obito could be planning to prank him - he had tried before - or he wasn’t really going to study and this was all a ploy to get Kakashi to join in video games with him. Either way, Kakashi was going to keep his eyes open for anything that could be a trick. He refused to let his friend get the better of him even once; Obito couldn’t even land a successful trick on April Fool’s day. 

They turned into the cul-de-sac a few minutes later where Obito ran ahead to turn off the house alarm. His parents, for some reason, found it a good idea to put the number lock in the kitchen rather than right next to the door. 

Kakashi closed the door behind him and moved to the kitchen to wait for Obito who was already running through the house. He heard a few frantic clicking noises then a final long beep to signify the alarm being deactivated. He joined Kakashi then with a mischievous look. “Wanna play video games instead?”

He knew it. “Obito…”

“Just kidding.” He said quickly, joining Kakashi at the table with a laugh. “You don’t really like playing them anyway, right?”

Not entirely true, but he didn’t see the urgent draw to them like Obito did. He pulled out their math homework for tonight and waited for Obito to do the same. It took a lot of ‘prepping’ on Obito’s part as he took forever to find the right page and straighten out his workspace. He couldn’t be any more obvious that he didn’t want to actually do homework. He even magically developed OCD as he evened out everything before him in a slow, delicate manner. 

Kakashi, however, was determined to make him learn something. He began teaching what they had shown in class that day in the most simplistic terms he could muster, knowing that Obito was still only half paying attention. 

“This is dumb. Who’s going to use this in the future?” Obito mumbled, glaring down at the homework like it had just insulted his mother.

Man, it was like trying to teach a five-year-old the quadratic formula. “You realize that science goes hand in hand with math, right? You might want to actually pay attention.”

“But not this kind of complicated math!” Obito objected, writing down a number. “Is this right?”

Kakashi checked his own answer to Obito’s. “Nope. How did you get a three-digit number when it was only supposed to be one?” A valid question. Obito had everything set up correct yet his answer was wrong. “Let me see your calculator.”

He scrolled up through Obito’s work process, quickly noticing the idiot had put in everything backwards. How did he plan on passing this year?! Scratch that, how did Obito even make it to their current grade?

“Hey, Kakashi, what do you think of Rin?”

“What do you mean?” Kakashi distractedly wrote down corrections on the paper. “She’s our friend, isn’t she?”

“But, I mean, do you like her more than a friend?”

Kakashi finally looked up at his friend to see him looking out the window with a faint blush on his face. Couldn’t he even look at Kakashi when he asked a question like that? He had a feeling that Obito had a crush on Rin, so he expected a conversation to pop up like this eventually. Surely Obito wasn't allowing his feelings to infatuate and distract him during the day at school. 

“No, not really.” He answered honestly, returning to his work. 

Obito messed with his face, trying to block the pinkness in his cheeks. “Is there anyone you do like?”

“Look, I’m not going to get in your way if you ask Rin out. Though if you plan on telling her you should probably do it fast, I think someone in the grade above us has an eye on her as well.” Kakashi tried to assure him so he would drop the topic. He still needed to get home at some point today to cook dinner before his dad got home.

“What are you talking about?”

Getting annoyed, Kakashi looked back to Obito. “You like Rin, right? You’ve been pretty obvious about it lately.”

Rather than getting embarrassed, Obito got flustered. “I- What? Me? What makes you think that?”

“The way you two go on every day. You always teasing her and her enabling of your bad habits.” Kakashi explained, “You two constantly have your heads together, so I figured you had a thing for her.”

Obito actually started getting upset with him. “Rin and I are only friends!”

“Then why the questions? Does she like me or something?”

“No, you idiot, _I_ do!”

Kakashi had read about moments when time seemed to just freeze, but he had never experienced one before now. Neither one of them moved, both equally surprised by what was just said. The only thing that was heard was the clicking of a clock in the background as their gazes locked, unsure of how to proceed from that moment. Obito was probably in shock by stating something like that, and Kakashi was having difficulty believing it. 

Unsure of how to continue, Kakashi turned to the only logical thing he could think of. “No, you don’t.”

“What?” 

Kakashi wasn’t sure if Obito had heard him or was just confused as to how to take the response. “We’re just friends and you like hanging out with me, but you don’t like me anymore past that.”

Obito stood up, nearly knocking his chair backwards, fury running through him like thorns through his veins. “Excuse me? You think you’re so smart that you can tell me how I do or don’t feel? How the heck would you know?”

“Because you don’t act differently towards me than you ever have since we first met.” Kakashi tried to explain. He wasn’t wrong about this. Obito was clearly confused. “If you wanted to hang out with me more, you wouldn’t have to tell me you liked me just to do it.”

Obito was actually shaking at this point, looking on the verge of either crying or punching Kakashi. Possibly both. “Screw you, Kakashi. Get out of my house.”

Unwilling to argue anymore, but completely sure that he was correct, Kakashi gathered his things and made for the door. “See you tomorrow.” He tried to say as casually as he could, but received no answer. He paused at the door, turning to try and catch his friend's eye, but was met only with his back and his hands clenched in fists by his side. The minute he was outside, it felt like whatever had been squeezing his chest was gone. Obito liked him? Impossible. There was no way he could have been serious about that. He wasn’t even sure Obito knew what it meant to like someone else. Kids their age considered ‘dating’ to be hanging out more often or the enjoyment of being around others. Kakashi knew adults considered it differently, since his father had been doing it for so long. Obito’s parents hadn’t, so how could he possibly know?

At the same time, he had never seen Obito get so upset before. He never even got that mad at games before. Kakashi debated going back to talk it over with Obito, but they both needed a moment to think it over. Tomorrow would bring better results, and it would probably just go right back to how it always had been. 

 

Two days had passed and neither Kakashi nor Rin had seen Obito. The only answer they had gotten was when Rin went to check on him yesterday to give him his homework. According to his parents, he was sick and didn’t want to see her in case she got infected. Somehow, Kakashi had the feeling he was lying. There were plenty of ways to fake a fever and Obito was the perfect type of mastermind to know them all.

“We should check on him.” Rin decided on their walk home. “His parents get home later than normal work hours, right? We could easily sneak in.”

“They have an alarm, Rin.” Kakashi reminded her. “And plus, we don’t have a key.”

“But he has a tree next to his window! We could climb up and throw rocks until he answers. They don’t have alarms on the windows, I bet.”

Kakashi shook his head at her determination, only strengthening his convictions that those two liked each other. “Don’t worry about it, Rin. He’s probably faking it.”

She actually stopped walking, taken aback by his accusation. “What makes you say that? Obito might not be good in school, but he would never skip it.”

Kakashi debated telling her about their argument; it would only cause more drama between them and he wasn’t sure if bringing Rin in on it would help. Then again, she might be able to talk some sense into Obito if she knew what was going on. Obito was more likely to listen to her anyways, right? At this point, Kakashi wasn't sure anymore. His mind had been a mess since Obito's confession and now he felt like he had misjudged a lot of things between them. 

“Being sick has never stopped him from seeing us before.” He answered. 

That seemed to pacify her a little. “I’ll call when I get home. He can’t say no to talking on the phone. Want to try a three way call?”

“I’ll stop by his place in the morning tomorrow. I’ve got some errands to run with my dad today.”

He finished walking her to her house, feeling bad for lying to her. His father was like Obito’s parents; he came back later in the evening. Even if his dad did want to run errands with him, it wouldn’t be until a few hours. In reality Kakashi was going to follow Rin’s advice to go and see Obito. Being sick was one thing, but not allowing visitors was another. Kakashi wouldn’t forgive him for refusing to see Rin if he was faking an illness just to pout over their disagreement. 

Just in case Rin was watching from the window, Kakashi continued as if heading to his own house. But once out of view, he jumped fences and ran between houses to take a shortcut to Obito. 

The tree in his friend's backyard took a running start to jump up on. They had always needed to help Rin up, she lacked the upper body strength that the others had, but by himself Kakashi had no issues. He latched on to the lowest branch and hauled himself up, trying to get parallel to Obito’s room. Once he was high enough, he grabbed some of the acorns that had yet to fall to the ground and chucked them at Obito’s room. 

It took a solid five minutes of direct hits to finally get the boy to open the window. He took one look at Kakashi, frowned, and shut the blinds again. 

“That jerk.” Kakashi muttered. Carefully as he could, he eased out onto the branch he was on and tossed more acorns. Louder he added, “Hey, Obito, open the window.”

No answer. He was being totally ignored.

“Either open the window or I’m breaking it down.”

Still no answer.

Now this was becoming aggravating. Obito could at least make an effort to talk to him! He was being so childish!

“Fine! I’m breaking it down!”

Without giving himself a chance to second guess himself, Kakashi jumped from the tree aiming for the window. The branch wasn’t as prepared for the jump and broke, taking half of his jumping strength with it. Instead of landing against the widow, Kakashi hit the side of the house. He just barely managed to catch the window sill under his grasp before he fell, leaving him hanging off the side of the house. Man, how uncool. 

Obito opened the window then, staring down at Kakashi in disbelief before grabbing onto his wrists and pulling. “You moron, what do you think you’re doing?!” he seemed too shocked to sound mad.

Kakashi struggled to climb up as well, kicking his feet against the side of the house until he could get his elbows over the edge. Obito grabbed the back of his shirt then and continued pulling until he had his friend safe in his room with him. They were both out of breath by the time they were sitting on the floor together, either from exhaustion or panic. Kakashi would be the first to admit that was a stupid move, but being ignored pushed him to do it. 

“Are you stupid? What were you trying to accomplish by breaking my window?” Obito grabbed Kakashi’s shirt and shook him. “Take the hint that I don’t want to talk to you.” His scolding was cut short by a sneeze. He began to start up again, only to sneeze. Cursing, he moved away from Kakashi and towards his bedside where a box of tissues lay along with a trashcan that was already half full. 

Kakashi took a second to catch his breath. So Obito really was sick? He hadn’t been faking after all? Now he really didn’t know what to say.

Obito clearly did. “What if you actually did break my window? My parents would kill you and me while they were at it. Pick up a phone next time, Bakakashi.” 

“Would you answer it?” Kakashi asked, shifting into a more comfortable sitting position now that he was no longer hanging out of the window.

“Of course I wouldn’t. I’m still mad at you.” Obito confirmed, sitting on the edge of his bed and tossing the tissue away. “Now go home, I’m tired.”

Kakashi refused. “Why are you so mad at me?”

Obito refused to look at him; only crossing his arms and frowning stubbornly at the floor in front of him. “As if you wouldn’t know.”

“Explain it to me.”

Still refusing to look his way, Obito directed all his attention at the floor. Even his furious hand gestures were aimed at the floor, but Kakashi did his best to not be amused by this as he was told exactly how he was an idiot. “You didn’t even have the nerve to just reject me. You just assumed that I didn’t know what I was talking about and treated me like a child.” He finally glared at Kakashi. “I mean; I know I’m still a kid but I know what I’m talking about. But you’re still a kid too, so why do you think you know so much better than I do?” He turned his attention to the floor. “I don’t get it. It’s just- even if you didn’t like me you didn’t have to be a jerk about it. Just tell me you weren’t interested or something. I would have understood. Just at least have the nerve to tell me no. I wouldn’t have over reacted. I’m not immature. Well, I mean, I am but not _that_ immature.” 

He interrupted himself with another sneeze and reached for a tissue. "You know I went into our conversation yesterday fully expecting you to say that you weren't interested. I was completely prepping myself for it, you know, just in case. Of course I was _hoping_ that you felt the same, but there wouldn't have been any hard feelings if you said no. I just- I-." he made a noise of frustration and ruffled his already messy hair. "You treating me like I'm stupid is really annoying. I'm not an idiot. Like, I know I'm not the brightest crayon in the box and I mess up - actually I don't mess up that often, but when I do it's pretty bad... but that isn't the point! I'm trying to say this wasn't a mistake and I knew what I was getting myself into and, you know, ugh!" He took a deep breath to calm himself down which developed into a cough.

Kakashi tried to process what Obito was telling him amidst the self-argument. “You thought I was rejecting you?” 

“What else could you be doing?” Obito responded. He groaned and flopped over on the bed, rolling onto his side and into a ball. 

Worried, Kakashi jumped up and walked over to him only for Obito to turn his back on him. “Go away, BaKakashi.”

“Is that what you want?”

“I don’t know.” Came a muffled voice as Obito pulled one of his pillows towards him and buried his face into it. 

That didn’t make any sense at all. “How do you not know? I thought you were so sure about how you felt.”

“Because! I’m really really happy that you came, but I’m still really mad at you and I don’t know what to do with that right now. I’m really confused and my head hurts and you’re not helping by being here.” 

From where he sat before, Kakashi hadn’t noticed it. Now that he was standing right next to Obito’s curled form, he could see his friend shaking. His face was covered by the pillow, but Kakashi would bet anything that he was crying right now. The boy always had a bad habit of showing exactly what he was feeling. How strange that despite Obito being a giant ball of emotion, Kakashi had never been able to pick up on the fact that his friend had feelings for him. What sort of friend did that make him?

Could it have been possible that Kakashi was wrong? He knew that Obito could be an absolute idiot at times, but perhaps he hadn’t given Obito enough credit. If that was the case, he had seriously messed up. What could he say now to make up for it? He wasn’t even sure if he could return Obito’s feelings for him. He had never given dating any serious type of thought before. Sure, he could easily see himself doing it, but the image next to him had always been a blank face. 

Either way, he couldn’t just leave Obito alone now, not like this. Whether or not he could share Obito’s feelings, they were friends. At the very least he could ensure that they parted today as friends. Putting his hand on Obito’s shoulder, he forced him to sit up while sitting on the bed behind him. He pulled Obito against his chest, pushed his arms between the pillow and Obito’s waist, and put their heads together. Kakashi had never been super physical with his friends before, but he could remember his father doing this for him when he was younger. The comfort of having someone who cared for you at your back did wonders for calming down a distraught person, or in this case friend. 

“Is this helping?”

No longer shaking but still with his face buried in the pillow, Obito gave the smallest of nods. 

Really, he was acting like such a child. Kakashi would have to forgive him this once since it turned out that he was really sick. “I’m sorry I didn’t take you seriously. To be honest, even if I did, I don’t have an answer for you. I never really considered the possibility of you and me. I always thought you liked Rin.”

Obito hugged the pillow tighter, unintentionally doing the same to Kakashi’s arms. “You were wrong.” He pointed out the obvious. 

Kakashi chuckled, “Yeah, okay, I was wrong.”

“Apologize for all the times you called me an idiot too.”

“Don’t push it, Obito, you’re still an idiot.” He couldn’t see it, but he was sure Obito was smiling. “Besides, since when did you start liking me anyway? I thought you wanted me to be your rival or something.”

Obito bristled under him. “T-That was in like third grade and that was only because you were better at everything than me. But,” he wiped his face against the top of the pillow. “I probably realized last year. You had to dress up to attend some sort of formal thing with your dad, and you looked really good in a suit. I remember thinking you looked better than anyone else I had seen before.”

Kakashi was now glad he was behind Obito so he couldn’t see the grin on his face. That had been his father’s promotion ceremony and Obito had stopped by right before they left wanting to hang out. He remembered Obito being flustered, but he had thought it was because Obito thought he had interrupted them in some way. To think that Obito had liked him all along was flattering, but strange.

“After that,” Obito continued, “I noticed it in other ways. Like when we hang out, or when we’re in class. I felt differently towards you than I did the others. I thought something was wrong with me, because who ever heard of a guy liking another guy? I asked my parents about it, like if it was possible, right? They said it was wrong and that people who thought that way were messed up in the head. So I kept quiet about it and hoped it would go away.”

“It didn’t?”

Obito took a steady breath and simply nodded again, shoving his face back into the pillow. A muffled “no” could be heard.

“I can’t believe your parents would tell you that. I thought they would have been more supportive of you.”

Obito fidgeted, “I never told them it was me feeling this way. They don’t know and I’m not going to tell him.” He glanced over his shoulder, trying to catch Kakashi’s eye. His face was still slightly pink, but that could have easily been from the illness as it could from being shy. “You’re not going to tell them, are you?”

“Absolutely not.” Kakashi assured him, feeling Obito release a breath of relief. “We’re friends, after all. You could go and like a tree and I’d still support you.”

Obito gave a small laugh followed by cough. He pulled away just enough to grab a tissue and wiped at his nose. “As much as it's nice that you stopped by, you should really leave though. If you stay any longer, you’re going to catch whatever I have.”

“Don’t compare my immune system to yours. I’m better at everything than you, remember?”

An elbow caught him in the ribs, although not as hard as what Obito would normally do in their wrestling matches. “Shut up, Bakakashi.”

Kakashi released him and withdrew from where was sitting. “Can I come see you tomorrow?”

“No,” Obito answered, standing as well and tossing the tissue away in the same move. “I’m going back to school tomorrow.”

“You’re still sick,” he argued. 

Obito shrugged. “I’m missing my classes and I’ll fall behind even further. It’s fine, I can always rest when I get home.” He led the way out of his room with Kakashi in tow. “That’s what Dayquil is for.”

Kakashi waited in the living room while Obito went to deactivate the alarm. “I can bring your homework to you and show you how to do it. We’re in all of the same classes. Plus, I’m supposed to be your tutor.”

“You sure?” Obito asked, punching in numbers. “Last time we tried that it resulted in me kicking you out.”

“Then don’t kick me out next time.”

“Kakashi-.”

“How about this then: if you come to school tomorrow, I won’t give you an answer.”

Obito gave him a confused look. “Answer? Like answers to my homework?”

Jeez, Kakashi was going to have to spell it out for him. He tried to keep himself from getting embarrassed about explaining the obvious to the oblivious. “You told me you liked me, but I haven’t given you an answer yet. So I’ll let you know by Friday, but if you come to school while you’re still sick then I won’t tell you anything.”

“That’s not fair.” Obito actually whined at him, looking even more miserable in his sick state. “Either you like me or you don’t. Waiting till Friday is just mean.”

“Either way, that’s what I’ve decided.” He made for the exit, already thinking about what he was going to say Friday. He needed a day to wrap his head around this and decide if he even wanted to take a chance dating Obito. Granted, Obito was a great guy and a fiercely loyal friend, but what would it mean to be something more than that? “Oh, and Rin might be calling later. She’s kind of hurt you turned down seeing her the other day.” He walked out the front door before Obito could give him an response. His mind was too filled with the decision he had for Friday to really continue any other conversation. What was he going to say? 

To play devil’s advocate, what would happen if he decided to return Obito’s feelings? Would they tell the rest of their friends? Obito’s parents? Kakashi’s? Would people be happy for them? Could he even make Obito happy? What would this even mean for them? How would things change?

Which led to another question: did Kakashi even want things to change? Did he want to give Obito a chance only to fail at being anything other than a friend? If he said no, Obito would eventually move on, right? What was he going to do?

 

"How dare you not see me the other day after I went through the trouble to collect all your homework for you!" Rin scolded into the phone. Even her posture showed her displeasure as she leaned against her father's desk with one hand flat on top. Her father sat in the chair across from her, his eyebrow raised slightly as he listened to the a voice on the other end try to respond. "Being sick isn't an excuse, Obito! You could have talked to me from down the hall! Or set up a skype call!"

"I'm sorry!" the voice on the other end seemed to repeat. 

Rin's hand relocated from the table to her hip. "Well?"

"Um...yes?"

"How are you feeling? Do you have anyone there watching you?"

There was silence on the other phone and she pressed it closer to her ear in attempt to hear. Suddenly her eyes widened. "You have the flu and your parents aren't home?!" She turned her gaze to her father. "His parent's aren't home. No shush, Obito." she held the phone away from her. "Dad, can I go over?"

"Don't!" Obito's voice said quickly on the phone followed by a cough. "It's really not that bad anymore! I told them to go back to work and I'd sleep all day!"

She ignored him. "I'll wear a medical mask. Mom has plenty she brings home from work." she continued addressing her father. 

Her father leaned back in his chair in his best "boss" impression despite his office being covered in all sorts of family decorations and hobbies. He buffed his shoulders up, trying to appear intimidating, and crossed his arms. "You want to be alone in a house with a boy?"

"No!" Obito wailed on the other end, clearly hearing him. 

Rin, however, was just as sturdy as the man before her. "Come on, you've known Obito for as long as I have and his parents even longer, right? I'll just make sure he's drinking water and taking medicine and not getting up. I won't get sick."

"Rin, really, it's okay!" Obito's voice continued.

Her father tried to hold his pose for a while longer but sighed. "You've got your stubbornness from your mother. Fine, but wear gloves too. If you get sick, you're grounded."

"Yes, sir!" she lifted the phone again. "Go unlock your front door, Obito, I'll be over in a minute."

"Rin-!"

She hung up before Obito could try and persuade her otherwise and returned her father's cellphone to him. "I'll be back when his parents get home." she assured him and ran from the room to find her mother. The woman was in the kitchen on the house phone with a co-worker and was going through files from work. Rin, as quietly as she could to not disturb her, went into the kitchen in the medicine cabinet to pull out gloves and a mask. Her mother worked as a nurse, so medical supplies were always a surplus in her home. Next she took a sticky note from the fridge and wrote where she was going when when she planned on being back before sliding it to her mom. Her mom quickly read through it, glance to Rin and the supplies she carried, and simply nodded. It was always easier to get permission from her mom than her father who always gave her a hard time about hanging out with guys.

Not forgetting to grab her book she had been reading, Rin left her house and jogged down the street towards Obito's house. Hopefully by now he had gotten the front door like she had asked and was going back to bed. Kakashi would be home by now, getting ready to run errands with his dad like he had said. Rin vaguely entertained the idea of inviting him along as well, but figured her father wouldn't take well to having her alone in a house with two guys. Best just to leave things as they were. Plus, Obito's parents loved her already so they wouldn't object to finding her there taking care of him. 

Eventually she got there and knocked on the door before trying to open it. Thankfully it opened. Yet rather than going along with her hope that he had gone to bed, Obito stood in the living room looking cross with her. 

"I told you, I'm fine."

"And that's why you sound like you've been gargling rocks all day? Have you taken medicine?"

He sighed. "Yes."

"When?"

"Lunch, I think?"

She moved past him towards where a bottle of cough medicine and cold medicine sat on the counter. She checked the active ingredients and directions before prepping them. "You can take these again now. Enough time has passed." she then got water in the largest glass she could find. "Also, drink all of this."

"What?" he asked, drawing out the word. "All of it?" He lifted it miserably like someone just handed him liquid brussel sprouts. 

Don't argue with me, Obito. We've got to get you better if you plan on going back to school tomorrow."

Pink dusted Obito's cheeks and he looked down embarrassed. "I'm, uh, not going tomorrow."

If Rin wasn't confused by the unexpected emotion, she was by the words. Not going? Sure he was sick, but there was still a chance he could be feeling fine enough to go. "What do you mean you aren't going?"

Obito, if possible, became more red. "I'm going Friday instead." He reached past her to take the medicine and did his best to drink the water but only finished half of it. Clearly not wanting the rest, he tried to set it down but she forced him to hold onto it. "Rin, I don't want it."

"Water will help with clearing out the virus. You need it."

"I don't want to." he pouted, trying again to set it down and still she refused to let him. "Stop, you're going to spill it!"

"Then it'll be your fault!"

"Rin!"

He lost grip at the bottom which caused the cup to jolt and send water flying at both of them. The both froze as the chilled liquid hit them, soaking their arms and the floor. Obito looked slowly at the mess then towards Rin. "I'm sick, I got to go to bed. You clean it."

He released the cup quickly, forcing her to grab it before it fell, the bolted up the stairs towards his room. 

"Obito, you jerk!" she called after him but was laughing either way. Not because of the way he flailed his arms jokingly as he ran to entertain her, but because she realized only then that his pajama pants had a bunch of bunnies on them. No doubt a gift from his grandmother that he couldn't turn down, but hilarious all the same. Best of all was the printed bunny tail that was on the back. 

Rin dumped the water into the sink and tossed some hand towels onto the floor before making a new glass. If Obito thought he was getting rid of her that quickly, he was mistaken. She went to follow Obito when she noticed the stack of school books she had brought for him the other day on the table completely untouched. Maybe she should call Kakashi after all and ask to borrow his notes. 

Making a U-turn, she entered the kitchen and found the house phone to call Kakashi. Knowing each other for so long, she already had their numbers memorized.

"Hello?" her friend's voice came from the other end.

"Hey, Kakashi, it's me, Rin. I'm over at Obito's place. Do you think you can bring your notes over? His parents are out, so I figured while he refuses to go to sleep I can help him with his homework but I didn't bring my notes. Plus yours are better."

"At Obito's?" he responded vaguely. "I was just- uh, sure I can bring them over."

"Am I interrupting something?"

"No, it's nothing." Kakashi quickly dismissed the question. "I'll be over soon."

He hung up without another word, leaving her to stare at the device in her hand with a confused look. What was that about? Since when was Kakashi ever rushed? Maybe she had interrupted something. Either way, at least he was coming over to help. He probably wouldn't stay long, but then she would only be here a few hours herself. Taking the water, she made her way towards the stairs once more. Obito had better be fast asleep in bed if he though he was going to get out of this now. There was no way she was going to let him get out of going to school tomorrow unless he was unable to speak the next day. If she was going to be the nurse her mother was, or better yet a doctor, she had to show she could heal even her friends. 

"You better not spill this!" She called up to Obito.

His audible childish groan answered, followed quickly by a comical sneeze.


	6. Travel Plans

“Kabuto, I swear to Christ, if you write on my notes one more time I’m going to key your car.” Obito threatened as he looked down at his notebook where his marks had been replaced by wrong ones. He didn’t know what possessed Kabuto to think he knew so much, but the fact that he was trying to correct Obito of all people was laughable. 

Kabuto leaned over the table where their group had been working together. “You were using the wrong method. That’s not what we were taught.”

Stealing his eraser, Obito tried to remove the marks the best he could. “That’s because I wasn’t _using_ the ones we were taught.”

“Then it’s wrong.”

“It’s like he’s asking to be hit.” Obito muttered to himself, giving up. The asshole had written in pen. The notes would have to be completely rewritten so he could figure out what he had written beneath. 

Just because he was using a different method didn’t mean he was wrong! Obito’s way was just more direct.

He closed the notebook and shoved it into his bag behind his laptop. He could just rewrite them after his next class when Kakashi drove them home. At least it wasn’t like he was working through the problems again, so it wouldn’t take near as much time. Maybe next time he should write in sharpie in case Kabuto tried to insert his opinions where they weren't wanted.

“Uchiha Obito?”

Obito stopped his packing as another man with short white hair and red eyes stopped in front of him. He looked to be around the same age as Obito’s uncle, or perhaps younger. Obito couldn't help but wonder if he might have been related to Kakashi with the whole strange hair color trait. “Yes?”

“I’m Senju Tobirama, the head of the science department. Do you have a moment to talk?”

Obito couldn’t remember doing something that would have gotten him in trouble. His grades had been good and he hadn’t been absent to a single class yet. “Sure.” He was aware of this partners slowing their movements to try and listen it.

Tobirama noticed as well, eyes scanning them with an emotion that Obito couldn’t place, but opted to disregard it. “Every year two universities are selected to be pitted against each other in terms of academics. You can picture it like a sports match, but instead of using brawn we’re using brain. The top three student from each of the University’s colleges are chosen and you were one that was nominated for the graduate category. It will be a three-day trip in which you would be representing Konoha. Should you win, you and the two others win $500 each along with a trophy and something to put on your resume. Does this interest you?”

“Excuse me, Professor Tobirama? Obito just transferred here from Iwa.” Kabuto interrupted. “How has he been nominated?”

Under normal circumstances, Obito would have told his partner to mind his own business, but in this case he was just as curious. “Actually, I kind of want to know that too.”

“I suppose it would be helpful to know that it was Professor Orochimaru that nominated you.” Tobirama answered. 

Kabuto sputtered in denial, but Tobirama ignored that too. He pulled Obito’s notebook from his bag and put it in Obito’s hands before opening it. “Apparently, he was very interested in how you learned in his class. Your methods are effective but unusual, and he’s curious to see how that will fare against another schools - in this case Suna. In fact, I’m quite curious as well. Your professor has brought me some of your work, so it’s safe to say he’s very invested in you.”

With a shit eating grin, Obito waved his notes at Kabuto. “Maybe you should be copying them instead of writing over them.”

“Bragging isn’t highly looked upon, Mr. Uchiha.” Tobirama warned. 

Obito replaced the notebook. “Merely a suggestion, Professor, and yes the offer interests me. When does this all take place?”

“Two weeks from now.” Tobirama answered. “I will send you an email by the end of the day with the schedule and run down of how to entire operation works. Accommodations, of course, will be provided by the University. You will be sharing a room with one of the students going along with you, and the third will be in another room. In fact I'm making rounds to meet the final nominee after you.”

Shifting his bag onto his shoulder Obito asked, “Who were the other two chosen?”

“Uzuki Yūgao and Hatake Kakashi.”

“Kakashi?” Obito asked before he could stop himself. “He’s accepted already?”

Tobirama nodded. “I found him before I found you. I wanted to see the students who had gotten nominated before I brought the idea up. Your comments towards your teammate notwithstanding, you seem qualified for the task at hand.”

“Tough love.” Obito assured him. Kabuto passed a glare his direction which Obito wisely ignored in front of their professor. “Is this a formal event or can we wear whatever?”

“As you’ll be a representative of the University, I hope you can find something to wear that’s at least business casual. We will be hosted in your previous school, Iwa, so I assume you know the layout well. If you have any further questions, you can either contact me or Professor Orochimaru.”

“Yes, sir.”

The professor nodded to him and excused himself to go and find the final grad student. Kabuto was fuming next to him; he had thought himself the favorite of Orochimaru for following his lessons to the letter. Obito couldn’t help but feel an ounce of guilt, but that was diminished when he remembered the notes he would have to be rewriting. 

“Don’t worry,” he offered halfheartedly. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“I’m going to find Professor Orochimaru.” Kabuto decided and vanished in a fit of anger. Obito’s other teammates gave him a small congrats and interest in being kept updated while he was gone. Obito had heard of these events, but he didn’t think he would be getting to go to one. He figured people would nominate students they had known for a long time or who had proven themselves capable of doing the work rather than someone who made up his own methods. His professor must enjoy taking gambles. 

What interested him now was finding Kakashi. They had both been chosen and therefore had time to plan ahead. Knowing that they were going to Iwa, Obito had the opportunity to show Kakashi around his city and to all the people he used to know there. But…that also meant his uncle. There was no way he could show up there and not have his uncle find out. The man was like a spy who could see everything within Chikyū. In fact, he probably already knew Obito was coming and was wondering why he hadn’t received a phone call yet. This entire situation was going to be either really good or really bad. 

He bid a swift goodbye to his partners then made for the exit. He had fifteen minutes to get to his next class, but he wanted to find Kakashi before that. If he was right, Kakashi was usually having lunch with Nagato right around now. There was a food court in one of their admission buildings, so he could check there first. He cut behind school buildings and through parking lots, trying to skip the class changing crowds in an effort to save time. He wasn’t worried about missing his next class, but he had an unspoken battle with a classmate over which desk was theirs. Obito preferred window seat and there was only one.

He skipped the stairs two at a time and snuck in a closing door last second. 

“Safe!” he heard someone call, echoing across the room. Following the noise, he located his target with Nagato and Hidan, the latter which was smirking at him. 

Obito joined them, stealing a French fry and leaning on Nagato’s backrest. “How’s it going guys?”

“Talking about Kurenai’s Thanksmas idea.” Nagato answered, slowly pulling his French fries away. “Don’t you have class?”

“I do, but I had a question for Kakashi. Professor Senju found you today too, right?”

Kakashi’s eyes widened slightly but then a knowing expression came over him. “Oh I see. You were picked too?”

“Picked?” Hidan asked, turning from one to the other. “Picked for what?”

“To represent Konoha in some school vs school thing.”

“Future Scholars Competition?” Nagato asked, now having a new appreciation for the conversation. “They only pick three people out of each college class to go. Man, I’m so jealous.” Understandable seeing as Nagato constantly beat Obito in terms of their overall grades. Perhaps what they were looking for were certain majors to go in the Graduate group. While Obito was going the biology route, Nagato had taken up Psychology. 

Hidan placed his chin in his hand and gave a thoughtful sigh. “Kakashi I understand, but why Obito? He’s an idiot.”

“That’s true,” Nagato nodded, “He nearly failed a class his first year in graduate school. Wonder why they picked him.”

Offended, Obito took a step back from them. “Wow, such support. I’m overwhelmed by your kindness.” He then crossed his arms and turned away from them. “At least I get to go. You guys have to stay here and be considered average.”

“Excuse me!?” Hidan gasped at him. “You’ll be the one on TV with everyone to witness if you lose.”

Obito visibly flinched. “TV?”

“That’s right! The entire event is televised.” Hidan jabbed a finger at Obito’s back. “So no pressure or anything, you moron. The rest of us ‘average’ people will be safely watching at home.”

Shoulders drooping, Obito began walking away sadly. “Oh my god…” 

Kakashi turned to the group as Obito exited the building - probably going to be late to class now at the pace he was going. “Is being on TV that bad?”

Nagato was still snickering behind his drink when he answered, “Obito has severe stage fright. We found out our senior year in high school when we tried to do a comedy act and Obito completely froze. Granted, it was still funny as hell though.”

Kakashi smiled along with them, but secretly wondered if Obito would back out now. Stage fright in front of a classroom was one thing, but on TV was another. Obito might be too freaked out if he notices cameras. “Think he’s still going?”

Nagato waved the concerns away. “He’ll go. That professor must have told him something about representing the school and he hates letting people down. Konan might have to deal with him talking in the mirror for the next few days though in attempt to get over the fact he’ll be watched my loads of people.”

“Can you imagine it?” Hidan laughed then in his best Obito voice said, “T-T-The answer to n-number t-twelve – I mean thirteen is f-f-flower, I mean p-plant cell.”

Nagato tossed a fry at him but couldn’t help but laugh as well. “Come on, it wasn’t that bad. It was more like:” he pretended to freeze in place and glance around awkwardly. 

Poor Obito, even his friends were picking on him. Kakashi couldn’t help but feel a little bad for him, but then there wasn’t much that others could do to help with a stage fright issue. It was all psychological. Still, Kakashi was now very interested in going and wanted Obito to go along with him. They were going to Chikyū City which mean that he had the opportunity to see where Obito grew up. Now that he knew Obito had been chosen, he was hoping to spend time with him.

Kakashi finished off his own meal while the other two cracked jokes. There was plenty of time to convince Obito to go before their RSVP time came to a close. Even if they went and lost, he was going to make sure that the experience was a memorable one. Plus, he hadn’t really traveled outside of Kasai City before unless his father decided to take him along on some business trips, but even then it hadn’t been very far or very long. 

Nagato mentioned Obito didn’t like to let people down, so what Kakashi was about to do could be a low blow, but he couldn’t help it.

> Kakashi: _Looking forward to representing the school with you in a few weeks._  
>  Obito: _-_- FML_  
>  Kakashi: _It’ll be fine._  
>  Obito: _I’ll just imagine the camera guys in their underwear then, shall I?_  
>  Kakashi: _That’s the spirit._  
> 

Hidan leaned over to see what Kakashi was grinning at and made an ‘oooh’ sound. “Look at you trying to be all comforting.” He snatched the phone and tossed it to Nagato. “Here, add something nice from us.” Hidan said, trying to keep Kakashi from getting it back.

Nagato took a second to read over the messages. “Aw, you’re so sweet. Here, I’ll help you out.”

“Guys, no!” Kakashi tried reaching but Nagato leaned back, texting away.

> (N)Kakashi: _Just try not to think of the hundreds of people you would be letting down._  
> 

Hidan smacked one of Kakashi’s reaches. “Add something from me.”

> (H)Kakashi: _People can’t hate you forever, so no pressure. I’ll always be here for you._  
> 

Nagato chuckled, then continued typing.

> (N)Kakashi: Feel free to use my comforting arms to fall into should you ever need to feel loved. 

Kakashi finally managed to snag the phone back but not before the messages were sent. “You guys are terrible.” He scolded them, reading the messages. “I do not speak like that.” Great, now what was Obito going to say? Hopefully he could tell that it wasn’t Kakashi speaking.

> Obito: _Hey, Kakashi…_  
> 

Oh shit.

> Obito: _I feel like you and I should have a talk…_  
> 

Hidan and Nagato leaned over Kakashi’s shoulders, laughing at their own jokes. Clearly they were thinking the same thing Kakashi was: he was in trouble.

> Obito: _About Hidan’s high school photography fetish…_  
> 

Attached was an image of teenage Hidan with black hair laying on a bed slightly lifting his shirt in an erotic pose. The great thing was, he had been a chubby kid and the image was more embarrassing than tempting. Kakashi covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud while Hidan look horror struck.

> Obito: _And Nagato’s childhood crush… ___  
> 

The next image to follow was a young Nagato hugging a wall in his room that was littered in images of a famous author named Jiraya. There was even a life-size printout of the man next to Nagato’s dresser.

Nagato gasped and covered his face. “Oh my god, I don’t even have those anymore. Where did he get that?”

Kakashi couldn’t hold it anymore and died laughing. He would never be able to look at those two the same. Trying his best to see the screen through the growing tears, he responded,

> Kakashi: _Good talk. I learned a lot._  
>  Obito: _:)_

“How did he even get that picture?” Nagato sat back in his chair, his face covered to hide his mortification.

Hidan took the more direct route and snatched Kakashi’s phone again. This time Kakashi didn’t bother trying to get it back; he eagerly wanted to know just as much as them.

> (H)Kakashi: _HOW DID YOU FIND THAT?!_  
>  Obito: _I got dirt on everyone :D_  
>  (H)Kakashi: _Stop with the stupid smileys! That was sent to only one person. How did you get that?!_  
>  Obito: _Oooh, so this is Hidan now. Yugito sends her regards._  
> 

“Damnit!” Hidan all but threw the phone back. “That bitch!”

“Guys, please.” The people around them were started to look and Kakashi wasn’t ready to becoming the center of attention. “Calm down, it’s not like he sent it to the school newspaper. Don’t make a scene.”

“I’m going to kick his ass.” Hidan growled, forcing himself to lower his voice. 

Nagato reached his hand out. “May I borrow your phone, Kakashi?”

> (N)Kakashi: _How did you get Nagato’s picture?_  
>  Obito: _Don’t underestimate my resources._  
>  (N)Kakashi: _Does that mean you have something on Kakashi as well?_  
>  Obito: _Yep! Now stop texting me, I’ve got to pay attention in class._  
> 

The red haired man snorted and handed the phone back. “Kakashi, you should have gotten blackmail pictures of him while you could.”

After glancing over the texts, he placed the phone down on the table and finished off his drink. As far as he knew, the only thing Obito could really pull up on him was the pictures from his birthday, but those were already out in the open. He hadn’t done much embarrassing things in his life, and as Obito expressed no interest in learning of their childhood together he doubted it was anything from that time. Was Photoshop beneath Obito?

“What could he have on me that Rin already doesn’t?” he said at last. 

“Obito wasn’t there when I had those posters in my room. I met him a few months after that, which means he probably got it from Konan or in the worst case scenario my parents.” Nagato explained. “There’s no way those were floating around on the internet.”

Hidan, however, was still fuming over someone named Yugito. If Kakashi had to guess, it must have been a past girlfriend or female friend. Or Hidan was just a really brave kid to send that to someone he didn't have a confident relationship with. 

They discussed other possibilities, but the conversation eventually turned into the two victims plotting their revenge. Their plans consisted of trying to trick Obito into getting drunk, slipping drugs into brownies, or setting him up with a girl which Kakashi wasn’t particularly on board with. They were considering finding the third party that would be going to the Future Scholars Competition and ask her to help sabotage, but that would end up getting Kakashi caught up in it as well.

In the end, they opted towards waiting for their next opportunity. With the vast amount of friends they shared, something was bound to come up that Obito would screw up on. Currently they were thinking of seeing how he reacted on live TV. Itachi had DVR so they were going to set it up to record everything. Kakashi was definitely going to have to help Obito in the next few weeks or he was doomed to be ruined by these two. 

 

“I can’t tell if you’re really excited or have to use the bathroom.” Obito mocked, kicking the chair of the man in front of him. “Stop fidgeting.”

Kakashi tried to turn in the seat as much as the seatbelt would let him. “And you’re being a killjoy. Shouldn’t you be excited about visiting home?”

Obito rolled his eyes before returning to his book. Going home meant seeing Madara again at some point which was exactly what he was trying to avoid. The only reason he had come along was because Kakashi had given him a hard time the entire two weeks before hand. He kept bringing it up, how much fun it would be, how they would have bragging rights, and so forth. He even offered to study with Obito should he need it. 

Obito was not blind. He knew exactly what Kakashi was doing. 

But why he allowed himself to be talked into going was beyond him. He never liked stuff like this and always did a lot of footwork so his partners could talk for him. He didn’t want to be in front of a crowd. 

Currently they were in the process of landing the plane they were on. All of the people traveling from Konoha had boarded the plane a few hours ago and ever since about halfway Obito had been forced to sit and watch Kakashi fidget in front of him. He tried reading and talking to their neighbors, but in the end he just sat there glancing from the window to his laptop and back again. All Kakashi needed was a sunhat, fanny pack, and large camera and he’d have the tourist look down. 

Yūgao was in the seat next to Kakashi glancing over what looked to be mathematic notes. She was probably the only one of their little group taking this project seriously. Obito refused to stress over something that wasn’t even going to take place today and Kakashi was too busy being a newbie traveler to remember what the trip was for. 

“Know any good restaurants around the hotel?” Kakashi asked, looking down at his watch. “We’ve got the entire day after we check in the hotel and room service doesn’t sound that appealing.”

“Sushi or steak?”

“Whatever is closest. I’m starving.”

Yūgao’s attention caught at that. “I’ve got snacks in my carry-on bag if you’d like.”

“Anything is better than those little bags of peanuts.” Obito muttered but kindly rejected the offer for food. His stomach had been in knots since he sent a text to his uncle claiming that he would be in the city for a few days. That had been right before liftoff, so he had yet to see if there was any response. Thinking back, he should have waited until he landed. Now there was a chance his uncle could be at the airport. 

The announcement for landing came on and Obito put his book away, trying to ignore the bumps the plane was causing. It wasn’t like he was afraid of heights, but he still didn’t like the feeling of being jostled around. At one particular jolt, the woman next to him latched on to his arm. He hadn’t really seen her around before, but judging from the decoration of her personal belongings, she was really into pigs. 

“S-Sorry!” she said quickly and was about to let go when another lurch had her clinging harder. 

Telling her to let go when she was that scared would be nothing short of heartless. So instead he just patted her comfortingly with his free hand and gave a friendly smile. “You’re a nursing student, aren’t you?” he asked, remembering that she had also looked over her notes just like Yūgao had. “What’s your name?”

“Shizune.” She squeaked out. “Sorry, I really really don’t like planes.”

“I take it you don’t like roller coasters either.”

She shook her head frantically in response and buried her face in his shoulder. She was brave for stepping on a plane when she was that terrified. It gave him hope that he would be able to compete on TV. 

“We’re almost there. It’s only this bad because the weather around Iwa totally sucks. This won’t be a problem when we go back.” He shifted slightly to make her clinging more comfortable and caught Kakashi glancing back curiously. “I know a Japanese Steakhouse.” 

Kakashi blinked, his expression totally unreadable. “Sure.”

There was one last bump as the tires hit the track and Shizune finally started loosening her grip. The circulation back to his hand left it feeling slightly numb, but he pretended to be unfazed as to not hurt her feelings. She probably felt awkward enough holding on to a stranger.

“Um,” she started, gaining his attention again. “What’s your name?”

“Uchiha Obito. I’m part of the grad student group.”

“Uchiha?” she echoed. “Are you related to Shisui?”

That was a name he hadn’t heard in a while. “Yeah, cousins.”

“He was a classmate of mine a few years back,” she explained, “And he helped me through a similar experience but with a boat.”

Obito could help but feel sympathetic towards her. “You must hate anything where your feet aren’t on the ground.”

“That’s pretty accurate.” She gave a nervous laugh. “But you’re in grad school, that’s pretty neat. I fell behind a little bit; nursing isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I’m hoping to be a doctor in the same league as Miss Tsunade.”

“Oh her? She’s my boss.”

“Are you…nursing too?”

Obito could laugh at that mental image. Him? In scrubs? Healing people? “No, I work at her bar. I could introduce you to her sometime if you’d like.”

“Really?” The airplane long forgotten at this point, her eyes shown like a child about to get a gift. “That would be amazing! I didn’t know she actually owned that place, I thought it was just her husband. I would completely owe you for it.”

“It’s really no problem.” He tried to assure her. Tsunade came to the bar quite often, and it wasn’t like he was going out of his way to set up a meeting. “I see her a lot of Tuesday nights, so come in sometime. You know where Slug bar is?”

Shizune nodded eagerly. “I’ve passed it a few times when running errands, but never been inside before. I’ve never been inside before. Is it a friendly atmosphere?” she then jumped like she surprised herself. “I mean, if a nice person like you works there and a lady like Miss Tsunade owns it, it’s got to be a nice place. I only meant is it like a Hollywood version of a bar or more open? Like college town aimed or like adult?”

Obito had no idea what she was asking him. All bars were the same to him unless it was a gay bar or it was celebrating a certain holiday. What the heck did adult mean? Every bar would only allow those 21 or over to enter, so of course it was adult. “It’s average, I guess.”

A ding indicating that they could take their seatbelts off interrupted them and soon everyone was crowding to get their bags. Obito picked his off the floor where it had rested by his feet and waited for the people on the end to move. There were two more people to Shizune’s right but Obito didn’t know them either. He stood up, although limited by the compartment above them, and hunched over Kakashi’s seat where he still sat. “You didn’t bring a lot, right? Let’s just walk to the hotel.”

Yūgao glanced up at him. “Isn’t it far from here? Most of us are going to wait for the bus to pick us up and take us there.”

“We’d get there faster by walking than car ride. We landed here during rush hour, and I’ve got no patience.” Obito answered. “That’s why I own a truck. I used to bully all the little cars around here.”

She smiled as if amused by the mental image. “I’d still rather wait for the bus. I don’t know this city.”

“I grew up here, so I’m pretty familiar with the layout. If you want, you’re welcome to join.” He glanced down at Kakashi who was gazing out the window at everything. “So, you want to walk or wait?”

“Walking sounds fun.” He agreed, squinting at something in the distance through the tiny window. “What’s the tall, mostly blue building over there?”

“Casino.” Obito skootched over as the crowd was thinning out. “Under normal circumstances I would say go and visit it, but I’m sure they know that there will be a crowd here for this contest and up their prices for those who aren’t members.” He tapped Kakashi’s shoulder to get his attention. “Come on, you’ll see the city as we go through it."

He led Kakashi off the plane so they could find their luggage. They both managed to keep their clothes fit to one duffle bag since they would only be in the city for three days. Tomorrow was the actual event and after that was the presentation of awards. But that would end a little into the afternoon and so they would be getting on a plane again that night. Tonight was their free night to explore the city, but it was already beginning to be around dinner time. The airport itself wasn’t incredibly crowded, but the pickup station was. Students were fighting to get their bag while Obito was just trying to get a glimpse of it. Luckily it wasn’t too hard since the others brought a suitcase, that and Obito’s bag supported Iwa’s school logo. He had chosen to bring his former MMA club bag in order to ensure that no one would confuse their bag for his. 

Kakashi was the first to see something and dove into the crowd, emerging – or rather shoved- back out holding his own duffle bag. His supported Konoha’s logo, but was for a fencing club. Obito had made jokes about that for the longest time after seeing it, calling Kakashi a wannabe knight in shining armor to some damsel in distress. Why else would anyone join a club like that?

“Hang on, I saw yours as well.” Kakashi said and dove back in. Seconds later he stumbled out holding Obito’s. 

“Thanks.” He took his bag back and slung it over a shoulder, taking a few steps back to avoid the cluster of students still trailing in from where they were exiting the plane. 

Together they managed to push through their fellow competitors and make their way onto the streets. Many students decided to do what Yūgao had mentioned and wait for the bus to pick them up. There was always one running around the city, but Iwa had worked with the city to ensure that the visiting schools had personal transport. Chikyū wasn’t the safest city out of the give major rivals, but it definitely always had something going on. 

It was the weekend just after Thanksgiving and many places were still themed for the holiday. Turkey decoration or sales everywhere they turned. With any luck they might get some sort of discount where they were going for dinner tonight. It also helped that Obito knew the owner. His babysitting job really had come in handy for creating relationships.

“Time for a tour.” Obito announced as they entered a busier part of the city. The first thing he pointed out was a local gym where he would often go to train for his MMA meets. As much as he enjoyed training with his team, he also enjoyed learning from people who had decided to make the gym their lives. It was important to know how to train the body, not just train for the sport.

The second thing he pointed out in the distance was a mall that was three stories. Sounded big, but that was only because it wasn’t very wide. That had been where he first met Sasori and Konan; the former had worked at the FYE store and the latter a pretzel store. Through Konan, he had met Nagato. They found out they went to the same school and started hanging out. 

There was a gas station where he met Zetsu who actually tried to sell him drugs – turns out Obito wasn’t kidding about Zetsu being a drug dealer – and it was with him that Obito first tried it. Turns out he hated them, but at least the experience happened. According to Obito, Zetsu no longer trifled with the stuff and had only been doing it to get extra money. That was when they had met Kakuzu who nearly beat the life out of them one night in an alley. Obito had been helping a drunk Zetsu home and a drunk Kakuzu decided to get into a fight that landed them all in the hospital. Madara had not been pleased.

Itachi had transferred to Iwa then and made friends with Hidan through an internship. They got into an argument over the use of religion in politics and dragged the rest of them in to settle the argument. The fight was still going on to this day, but Obito refused to take part in it. Kisame had been a part time lifeguard during a beach trip and made friends with them their early college years. From then, the group had been inseparable despite their large age differences. 

The next building was a police station. Obito didn’t speak much on the topic and actually ducked behind Kakashi when a police car was casually driving by. 

“Are you a wanted man?” Kakashi had joked the second time Obito did it.

Obito had been quite serious in his answer, “That depends on who you ask.”

He didn’t elaborate and quickly moved on to the next subject. By the time they passed a few outlets, Obito’s favorite coffee shop, a bar he used to work at, and a collection of food stores, they finally reached the hotel. Just as Obito had predicted, they had beaten the bus. As they entered, they were greeted by the staff and led to a room with a list of student names and their card numbers. Every student got their own card, which was nice. Even better was that they were only on the fifth floor. 

“Let’s catch the elevator.” Kakashi led the way, finding them with better timing that Obito would have. The hotel was rather large and he was almost about to walk down the wrong hall. They managed to sneak into an elevator with a random group right as the rest of their student guests came in through the door. 

Obito sighed as the doors shut and the floor started lifting. “Well, we just avoided that headache. Let’s take the stairs down so we don’t have to wait.”

“Agreed.” Kakashi nodded. “Airplane food does nothing to fill me up.”

“Didn’t Yūgao give you chips as well?”

“Obito, how much food do you think a person like me consumes?”

Obito paused to look him up and down, seriously considering. “A bottle of soda and a cornflake.” 

The look he received was a rather dull one but the laughs from the random people in the elevator made it worth it. 

The two of them got off on the next floor, leaving the group behind them still greatly amused. “Relax, you’re going to be eating more than a cornflake soon.” Obito teased, leading the way down the hall with Kakashi muttering something behind him. Their room was at the end of the hall next to the staircase and thankfully furthest from the elevator. If Obito had to hear that thing go off all night, he might actually strangle someone. 

The hotel room itself was something along the lines of what Obito had expected. One bathroom, one bed, and one desk. One of them could push the small cushioned seat against the dresser that the TV sat on for any studying while the other took the desk. Since Obito hardly actually used his desk anyways due to his desktop taking up most of the room, he instantly tossed his things on the sofa.

Without bothering to see what side Kakashi wanted, Obito took the one closest to the window and flopped down, finally able to stretch and relax without being on the plane or the streets. The bed was softer than the ones he had been on for other school trips, but he didn’t know whether that was because of location or Konoha was willing to spend more money on hotel rooms. 

Kakashi opted to sitting on the corner of his side, shifting through his carry-on bag to find his wallet. “Did you want to invite anyone you know from here along?”

Obito gave a small laugh. “All the people I care enough to invite are all in Kasai.”

Kakashi turned his bag over and dumped everything out on the floor in front of him. “Really? Don’t want me to meet your uncle?”

“Dude, don’t even joke about that. He’s a menace.” Obito put his arms behind his head to add some height so that he could look over at Kakashi. “Lose something?”

“My wallet.”

As nicely as he could, Obito shifted to put his foot on Kakashi’s back and shove him off the bed. Kakashi landed with a loud thump on top of his notebook then turned and glared at Obito. “What was that for?” But right as he asked, his eyes slightly widened and he reached down to pull his wallet from his back pocket. “Oh.”

Obito smiled at him. “You’re welcome.”

Kakashi stood up then, straightening his shirt back from where it had lifted when he fell off the side. “You could have just told me.” He grabbed Obito’s ankle and pulled him halfway across the bed. “Let’s go before the rest of the people around here get the same idea.”

“Fine.” Obito drew the word out. Now that he had laid down, he wasn’t looking forward to getting back up. He had gotten lazy as of late. “But before we get there I have prepare you for something.”

“And what’s that?”

“If the owner asks us if we’re dating, tell him yes. We’ll get a discount.”

Kakashi wasn’t sure if this called for a laugh or denial. “What?”

“I know the guy and he’s been strangely fascinated with my love life since he knew me. Tells me he considers me a son since I babysat his daughter all the time and we got along well. Last time I told him me and Konan we dating and we got like half the meal off.”

This time Kakashi did laugh. “Somehow I feel like that’s cheating.”

“Nah, it’ll be fine. Come on, it’s actually not that far from here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point in my posts, I'm halfway done transferring my story from my word document to AO3. The end of this chapter is page 73/124. This is super exciting for me because it means I can go back to writing soon instead of editing/proofreading :) However my spring break ends today which means back to busy schedules after this. I'll do my best to continue getting these all out!


	7. Black Sheep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't realize reverting my mind back to early childhood would be so difficult. I found myself constantly thinking "is this what children do?" The answer to myself was then "no" followed by "well, now what?". Enjoy the product of those thoughts~

Konan paced in Nagato’s kitchen, glancing at the microwave, to the living room, and back. The introductions to the Future Scholars Competition was about to begin, but she had been caught between wanting to support her friends and fill her stomach. “Hurry up.” She urged the machine, already grabbing a fork in preparation.

“Konan, it’s starting!” Itachi called.

Impatience getting the best of her, she stopped the microwave at 30 seconds left and pulled out her dinner plate. It burned her hands as she rushed from one room to the other, jumping the couch to place herself next to Nagato. “Where are they?”

“It hasn’t shown yet.” Nagato stretched his feet on the table in front of him. “They’re starting with Suna since they won the most recently of the schools.”

“Boo.” Konan tore the plastic film from her tray and stirred the contents.  
The host introduced the students by their groupings, but the three of them were only paying attention to the grad group. For Suna there were two guys and a girl, on par with Konoha. The guys were Yūra and Yashamaru and the woman Pakura. As it stood, it was Yūra vs Obito, Pakura vs Kakashi, and Yashamaru versus Yūgao. 

“Yūra looks ready to punch someone.” Itachi observed. 

The man on screen was clenching and unclenching his fists while glaring straight ahead. The other man from Suna was much more gentle looking, even offering a small wave to the camera. The woman was completely passive.

Next they started going through the Konoha group. Nagato flipped his phone out, hoping to catch Obito doing something stupid. “Please look petrified.” He was whispering under his breath.

Finally, it got to the grad group. Yūgao had her arms firmly at her side, giving a good attempt at looking at attention despite being nervous. No one would have been able to tell unless they were watching her scan the room with slightly widened eyes. Kakashi had his hands in his pockets looking as calm as he ever did. He may as well have been in a group of friends with how unnaturally at ease he was being. Obito had his arms crossed and his gaze away from the audience and towards his competitors. 

“Nice.” Konan laughed, nudging Nagato who was now thoroughly disappointed. “He’s distracting himself with his competitive nature.”

“Damn it.” Nagato sighed and leaned back again. “I was really hoping he’d be freaking out.”

The two groups came together to shake hands which would have been peaceful had Obito and Yūra not looked like they were about to kill each other. It was a shame it wasn’t a wrestling match; that would have made things a lot more interesting. 

Itachi grabbed his drink from next to him. “There’s always time for him to freak out when it’s his turn to go on.”

“I suppose.”

Konan nudged her dejected friend. “Relax. If you really wanted to make jokes about him, just tell everyone he slept with Kakashi.”

“But the only thing they’ve done is- oh.” Nagato frowned as he realized she meant the fact the two of them were sharing a room. “That’s hardly the same thing. By those standards, we can claim we had one giant orgy with our group.”

“Well, we weren’t that far from it.” Itachi pointed out. “In case you forgot, at least four people were making out with each other during Sasori's Halloween party.”

“Six if you include how close Deidara and Sasori got.” Konan added with a laugh. “That’s as close as I’ve ever seen that blonde idiot get to kissing another man. He still won’t acknowledge that it nearly happened.”

“I don’t even want to acknowledge that it nearly happened.” Itachi muttered, although a small smile curved his lips. “Still, it did provide some good insights on who would date who in our group.”

Konan prodded him with the back of her fork. “Please, Nagato and I would be friends with benefits only.”

“Obito and Zetsu?” Itachi challenged.

Nagato released a dark laugh. “Is there anyone in our group Obito hasn’t kissed yet? Including lost bets or dares.”

“Me!” Itachi answered quickly. “And thank God for that.”

“Deidara, Asuma, Rin, Yamato, and Kurenai as well.”

Both of the boys stopped whatever they had been doing and turned to her with equally shocked looks. 

“What about Kakuzu?” Nagato whispered, almost dreading the answer.

Konan simply nodded, unfazed by their growing appall. “It was a dare, but yeah. Didn’t last very long and both refuse to talk about it.”

“That would have been the perfect blackmail!” Nagato complained. “Please tell me you have a picture!”

“He stole my phone and deleted it.” Konan sighed. “Shame about that.”

“Damn it!” Nagato cursed for the second time that night. He was beginning to think Obito was going to be impossible to get dirt on. “Do you have anything that I can use to get back at him?”

“Text Rin. She might have something from their childhood.” Itachi offered.

Konan was quick to shut the idea down. “He wouldn’t remember it anyway so there’s no point in backtracking that far.” Nagato slumped further into the chair next to her. “Anyways, who knew that he had friends here before he met us. That came as a shock.”

They had all been equally curious when they came into the bar to find Obito pissed off and physically hurt. Naturally the first thing they had done was team up with Konan about Obito ruining a nice shirt. Then they went on to make him do all sorts of specialty drinks that took a while to make, like rainbow shots. It wasn’t until Rin had stopped by to see if Obito was okay that they got the full story. Obito had been insistent that he was fine while trying his best to avoid her behind the counter, so the rest of them took interest in her. Deidara got her to admit that they had been friends and about their shared past, but Itachi had stopped them all from continuing what Rin had started before. Later on in the night he explained Obito’s memory loss situation to them, and they all agreed not to make it a point of interest until he was ready. That, however, didn’t mean they couldn’t force him to make new friends.

It turned out well in the end, but Konan was still curious about their shared past. She began getting closer to Rin and Kurenai, sneaking questions in every once in a while to figure out just who Obito used to be. From what she could tell, he was a reckless kid who enjoyed bringing chaos into their lives. When Konan tried to ask Kakashi in similar sneaky fashion, he remained mute on the subject. She was sure it wasn’t because they had a falling out, but that he was like Itachi in the fact that he wanted Obito to be the one to ask questions, not the rest of them. That in itself gave her plenty of reason to trust Kakashi; well, that and the fact he had been the only one to offer to go and check on Obito for her.

“I’m glad he did. They helped adjusting to Konoha really easy.” Nagato agreed then looked around Konan at his roommate. “You hadn’t been here in a long time, so you would have only been helpful around the city.”

“That’s more useful than telling you where your class is on campus. The buildings are marked there.” Itachi countered. “The only one that would get lost there is Deidara and even he figured it out.”

“Fair point.”

Konan sighed longingly. “Why can’t Obito and I get along like you two? He doesn’t let me use the kitchen and basically lives in the living room when he’s home.”

Nagato laughed at the image. “Probably because you can’t cook for shit, Konan. Remember the fish you tried to make?”

“Fish is harder to cook than steak!” She defended herself.

“Yet you still burned both.”

Itachi actually moved away from her a few inches. “You burned steak? You monster.”

Konan pouted in her chair, spinning her fork around. “It was only once. It was my first try.”

“And you did a terrible job.” Nagato put his arm around her in a half hug. “That’s why Obito is terrified to let you use his cooking dishes. The good that comes out of all of this is that you can get him to cook for you. The bad part is convincing him to do it.”

“Just buy the food and he’ll do the rest.” Itachi grabbed his empty plate and made for the kitchen. “That was the agreement he and Uncle Madara had. Uncle Madara couldn’t cook either.”

“He must have survived off of microwave dinners too.” Nagato laughed. 

Itachi shook his head. “No, he ate out a lot. Being a single man in the position he was in, he had a lot of extra money he didn’t know what to do with. That’s another reason why he took Obito in rather than letting him come live with me and Sasuke.”

Konan leaned forward, setting her plate down. “Did he spoil Obito?”

“Nah, he made him get a job as soon as he hit high school. Just imagine his reaction when Obito started his first day at Spenser’s in the mall. My uncle nearly flipped wondering why he couldn’t pick a more sensible job that didn’t have explicit things. Obito started bringing home nude posters to spite him.”

The other two laughed at the mental image of Obito’s room covered in the posters or decorations that could be found in that particular store. Itachi knew otherwise; Obito actually preferred the game posters that could be found there, but he didn’t bother to correct his friends. The explicit posters were only put up when he knew Madara was going to barge into his room for any specific reason. As soon as Madara saw the posters, he would tear them down and throw them out. He tried his best to turn Obito into a respectful citizen, but the atmosphere of Chikyū and Madara’s pushy attitude always turned Obito further away.

One reason Itachi had went to Chikyū with Obito wasn’t just because they were friends, but because Itachi shared a similar situation. His father had been incredibly demanding, so Itachi went to a college that had been far from home. It was his hope that his father would become more lenient in his time away, and so far that had proven successful. His father’s eyes were finally being turned to Sasuke in such a way that his younger brother had always yearned for. Now that Itachi was back, he could work on creating a healthier relationship with his parents.

If only the same could be said for Obito. He wasn’t trying to make an effort towards Madara at all, avoiding him whenever possible. Despite being in Chikyū now, he was probably doing his best to keep away from Madara. His cousin truly was hopeless.

 

Obito sat fidgeting on the sidelines as he watched Kakashi perform minor surgery on a fake animal. He was in a competition with the nursing grad from Suna, wearing scrubs and a face mask as he tried to fix the animals leg. It was a simple removal of the infected area, stitching, and splinting. The goal wasn’t who could finish first, but who could do the best job.

The amount of concentration Kakashi had as he worked was mesmerizing. There may as well have been no cameras in the room; he was in his own world. His hands didn’t tremble and there was no doubt on his face as to what actions he had to take. Obito was looking a whole new side of Kakashi that he hadn’t seen before and as much as he wanted to deny the fact, it only made Kakashi that much more striking. Under normal circumstances he would have removed himself before he could be caught staring at Kakashi in any way other than as friends, but right then he couldn’t help it. 

Kakashi’s opponent hit the timer first with him following just a minute and a half later. They shook hands respectfully before being escorted to the sidelines. Obito was quick to meet him there.

“I finished a little late.” Kakashi said with a nervousness he hadn’t shown on stage, pulling his mask down and removing the gloves. “You think it’ll be alright?”

Obito could have hit him for asking something so lame after everything Kakashi had done to boost his own confidence. Lucky for Kakashi, Obito was still slightly overwhelmed with fascination to be overtaken by pettiness. “You did great. Pakura was rushing during the end of it because she looked over at whatever you were doing. That’s bound to cost her some points.”

“But my time was longer.”

“They aren’t looking at the times.” He assured him. “They’re only doing that on mine. Stop worrying, Kakashi, you won for sure.”

The smile that Kakashi gave him was just as mesmerizing as watching him on stage. “Coming from you, that means a lot. I hope you’re equally as confident about your own.”

Obito slightly blanked out, but from what part of Kakashi’s words he didn’t know. “What?”

“You’re up next. Aren’t you ready?”

“What?” Obito’s voice was a little higher than he would have liked. His mind was totally phasing out. Didn’t Yūgao still have to go? Or another group? Literally anyone else? Hell, why not have the judges face off against each other. 

Kakashi was beginning to look concerned. “Obito, are you alright?”

Obito gave a hollow laugh. “Don’t really have a choice, do I?” He took a deep breath to steady himself, slipping his hands into his pockets to give his best ‘chill Kakashi’ look. “All I have to do is win. No pressure.”

“I suppose.” Kakashi agreed wearily. “Though I wouldn’t think about trying to win for the school or anything.” He shifted one of his arms around Obito’s shoulders and pulled him in before gesturing towards the guy Obito was going again. “Just think of beating him.”

Obito followed Kakashi’s direction towards Yūra, frowning slightly. “What’s his problem anyway?”

Yūra was glaring their direction in a similar way a writer would look at someone plagiarizing their work. 

Kakashi shrugged. “I have no idea, but wipe that look off his face.”

“He’s reminding me of Kabuto.” Obito muttered more to himself then shrugged off Kakashi’s hold. “Find a place you want to eat tonight. If I win, it’ll be my treat.”

“And if we lose it’s mine?”

Obito finally broke a smile, “Naturally.”

“You’re terrible.” Kakashi laughed then stepped aside to let Obito up on the stage. “Good luck.”

Obito briefly nodded then walked up the steps, feeling his confidence shrink with every move forward. Yūra came up on his side as well, still scowling. They met in the middle where the announcer reintroduced them and their goal: to identify the reason for a cellular breakdown, properly identify its source and treatment, and use the proper materials to fight against the cause. With everything provided, it shouldn’t be too hard and it was meant to be something that they had gone over in the past. Unlike Kakashi’s assignment, this was a race against a clock. Whoever finished first with the correct answer. If they got the answer wrong, thirty seconds would be added to their final time and they would be forced to continue until the correct answer was found. 

They reached to shake hands, nearly crushing each other’s fingers in the process. 

“I won’t lose.” Yūra said proudly. Or was that arrogance? “Not against someone like you.”

“Do I know you?” Obito asked, hoping silently it wasn’t someone from his past. He didn’t remember ever visiting Suna before and should have no acquaintances there. Well, aside from Sasori’s family, but that was beside the point.

Yūra’s head lifted slightly. “I’m a friend of Kabuto’s. He should have been here instead.”

“Oh. My. God.” Obito had to avoid face palming in front of the camera. “Are you serious? That’s what you’ve been glaring all this time for?” He shook his head and turned away to his mini lab and worksheets. 

That literally explained everything. No wonder Yūra reminded him of Kabuto; Kabuto was always glaring at him in class too. He couldn’t help that they couldn’t get over themselves in their own little egotistical world, but he was now determined to kick this guy’s ass. In some way, it would be kicking Kabuto’s ass too. 

Kakashi could laugh at how Obito shifted entirely when going to his desk. He couldn’t hear what he and the other guy spoke about, but suddenly Obito became very exasperated and determined all at once. It was just like when they first met. There was a bell to signify to begin the competition, but the responses by the contestants were extremely different. Yūra dove into his work, his eyes narrowed in focus as he skimmed all the contents on the page before him. Obito merely lifted the paper, flipped it casually back and forth like it was a fan, and set it in the furthest corner. He looked bored. 

“What is that kid from Konoha doing?” someone whispered from behind.

Kakashi wondered that as well. What was Obito doing if not paying attention to what the written text said? 

But the Uchiha simply went towards the scratch paper and started writing down the things he saw in the telescope. There was a camera behind him for the audience to look at, but it didn’t show to the students waiting their turn in the competition. Just as Yūra went to look in the telescope of his own, Obito was already filling out answers on his worksheet. At one point Obito glanced over towards the judges then to Yūra, then smirked. 

He knows something, Kakashi realized. There must have been a trick, because as soon as that expression crossed his face, Yūra seemed to become increasingly confused. He kept flipping back and forth between the paperwork and his tools as though he were lost or missing something vital. At some point, Obito became very relaxed and even starting toying with his desk, arranging it to his liking. He wrote a few things down, used his tools to find the correct portions to the treatment, and glanced at Yūra who was increasingly more aggravated. 

Then, finding nothing better to do with his leftover time, Obito walked over and pressed his buzzer to symbolize he was finished. He waited to the side while the judge walked over to his desk to inspect everything. Everything was fine until the judge picked up Obito’s initial paper that he had discarded and his face dropped. He looked from Obito, to the paper, back to Obito, then to Yūra. After a brief moment of hesitation, he walked to the microphone and announced Obito had completed his work correctly. If Yūra looked pissed off before, it was nothing compared to what he was looking now. They were excused from the stage and Obito went to meet up with Kakashi again, looking absolutely smug with himself. 

Before Kakashi could say anything, Yūra came up to them and grabbed Obito by the arm and forcing him to turn and face him. “What the fuck was that, Uchiha?” Yūra snarled at him. 

“Whoa, hey.” Kakashi grabbed Yūra’s wrist and forced him to release Obito. “I don’t know what your deal is, but you need to calm down.”

Yūra shoved Kakashi away from him, about to round on him next but Obito stepped between them. “They got our papers mixed up,” he explained quickly. “I noticed it when what I saw on the table didn’t match the paper. Judging from how you were acting, you noticed it wasn’t the same either.”

“Of course I noticed it wasn’t the same! Why didn’t you tell the judges if you realized that we had each other’s papers?”

Obito shrugged nonchalantly. “I assumed it was part of the test. Plus, I already knew the identity of my own work, so I just filled everything out that I knew and worked to figure out the rest. Plus, even in the professional field, you can’t always assume paperwork is always accurate. It’s not my fault if you simply memorize answers for a test rather than learn the material.”

“What did you say?” 

Yūra went for Obito again but one of his teammates, Yashamaru, came up and pulled him away. 

“Sorry about him.” Yashamaru said quickly, pulling him back towards the rest of the Suna group. Yūra looked ready to kill Obito but was in the end surrounded by his own teammates. Luckily the cameras were on the next group rather than their exchange, or their schools would be having a strict talking to. 

Obito gave an audible sigh then turned to Kakashi, taking in his surprised look. “What?”

“You figured that out without the proper instructions?’

“I don’t use the same methods as Professor Orochimaru teaches, so I’m able to identify and work with things my own way. It’s a bit of a shortcut, but so far I haven’t been proven wrong.”

“That was all guess work?”

“Not entirely, it’s more like trial and error. You know you’re right when things add up in the end. I could explain it further but you probably would have no idea what I’m talking about.”

He was right about that. Kakashi was just surprised Obito had done so well in so little time. He had even loafed about. For sure he had changed since being the idiot Kakashi knew back in grade school. Finally, he could see Obito in his own element that wasn’t video games or gym, but something he enjoyed doing educationally. He had to admit, he liked what he was seeing. 

But that wasn’t going to keep him from going through with what he promised. “So I guess that means dinner is on you tonight.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Obito waved dismissively. “Don’t pick somewhere lame.”

Kakashi grinned, easily imagining picking a place with poor reviews just to watch Obito flip out on him. In this city, poor reviews could mean a bad neighborhood. “Let’s go cheer for Yūgao.”

Watching her competition was probably the most nerve racking of the three of them. Neither Kakashi or Obito could even understand what was going on with the board behind her. They couldn’t tell if it was meant to be one single equation or multiple taking up a large space. 

Obito felt like his brain was being fried. He had never been exceedingly good at math, but what she was doing was like another language. What the heck were some of those symbols? He glanced over at Kakashi who had his eyes slightly narrowed as if he understood some of it and was trying to figure out the rest. Go figure that he would be the genius on all subjects.

Yūgao’s competition wasn’t about time, but about efficiency and accuracy. There were multiple methods they could use to find the answer to their problem, and they were told to use two different ways to find the exact same answer. That mean it had to be the same even if it was rounded. Unlike Kakashi or Obito, Yūgao seemed very stressed out. The two methods she was using were coming out differently and she seemed to be second guessing herself. Yelling on the sidelines weren’t allowed as it would interfere with the recording process, so all the bystanders could do was watch silently. 

“Ah.” Kakashi said suddenly. “She messed up.”

Obito glanced over the board but still didn’t see what Kakashi did. “How do you know? Aside from the fact that the answers don’t match up.”

Kakashi leaned towards him and gestured towards the left side of the board. “You see that weird symbol? It looks like another one in math. She did the problem correctly, but she wrote the symbol wrong in a rush.”

He still had no idea what Kakashi was referring to, never having to go that high in a math class, but he could get the gist of it. 

“Maybe it would be better if she erased the whole thing.” Obito suggested. 

Kakashi nodded slightly. “Probably, but I don’t think she will. She keeps thinking it’s her second method.”

Obito was just glad it wasn’t him up there anymore. When he had been on stage, he expected the challenge to be more difficult- granted not having the correct papers had added an obstacle – but he was glad it was nowhere near as difficult as what Yūgao was doing. He probably would have given up by now if it was him. 

The man who had pulled Obito’s opponent away was on the stage trying his best to figure out his own problems. Obito could only assume he was having a similar problem since he kept sliding back and forth at his desk. What sort of problem were they even trying to figure out anyways? Who actually used that much complicated math in their lives? Both competitors ended around the same time and waited for the judge’s decision, standing off to the side with their best ‘I’m not nervous’ face. Obito glanced towards Kakashi who was trying to analyze both of the boards on stage before turning away to pay attention to the judges. They brought together the final answers and were chatting amongst themselves in the corner. 

“They’re dragging this out on purpose.” Obito muttered, feeling bad for the two contestants. He and Kakashi had their victory assured the moment their contest ended, but these two judges were taking forever to figure out one simple answer. 

At last one of them came forward and announced Yashamaru the winner – apparently they had to go back quite a few decimal points to see who was the closest. Yūgao did well to not be disappointed as she shook hands with her competitor. When she went to join her fellow grad students, they treated her like a winner. Obito cheered her on for being able to understand something as complicated as math while Kakashi assured her that no one could have done better. Yūgao may as well have been treated as the victor with how the audience from Konoha were treating her compared to how Yashamaru was given a lukewarm congrats. They must still be mulling over their own loses.

There were still other contests to go before they could decide a school winner, yet they all felt like celebrating anyway. Inviting Yūgao along, they opted to go to a local Hard Rock Café. Obito offered to pay for Yūgao’s as well, despite Kakashi’s attempt to backtrack so he could pay for his own, and left to speak with Professor Senju about leaving early. If they were lucky, they could skip some of the rushes and get a good seat.

Yūgao nudge Kakashi towards the back, allowing the next group of Konoha students to take their place to cheer on their fellow competitors. “How long have you two known each other?” she asked casually, glancing in the direction Obito had gone. 

“About four months.” He answered, although he wanted to claim more. 

“I’ve seen you two hang out before with a few of those other new students. I thought it had been longer.” She mused. “Do you know if he’s interested in anyone?”

Kakashi felt his heart grow cold for a moment. “Not really, why?”

Yūgao gave a small laugh. “Shizune has been bugging me about him since she met him on the plane. She’s incredibly shy though, so I figured I would find out on her behalf.”

The girl who had been clinging to him the other day? That was an awfully short amount of time to develop a crush on someone you didn’t even know. Not that he could say much, only knowing this Obito for a few months… but he still didn’t want to help someone out in this regard. Call him selfish, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. 

“You’re better off asking Obito yourself.” He offered, despite wanting to tell her it was useless. He wouldn’t lie to her, but he wasn’t going to offer any assistance. Plus, going straight to Obito was probably the better idea in the end anyways. Anyone could say anything through the grapevine, but going to the person directly would eliminate any confusion – that and it was more straight to the point. 

“You’re right,” Yūgao agreed. “I should be telling her the same thing, right? They’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other on the plane tomorrow.”

Crap, he had totally forgotten about that. Guess that meant that he wouldn’t be able to ask Shizune to switch seats with him. He could always buy some sort of card game for all of them to play so that Shizune didn’t get a chance to speak one on one with Obito, or was that being too petty? It could be that Shizune was his type, or that she wasn’t and he would just turn her down anyway. There was no telling how his tastes in people had changed since he grew up. Kakashi knew now from personal experience that Obito was partial to either gender, and there was a good chance he could still be his type, but what if he wasn’t? Obito could be too conflicted over sharing an unknown past with Kakashi to try and bother with anything more than friendship. This was, after all, just speculation and he would have to act sooner or later before someone got a leg up on him. Just sitting around and hoping wasn’t going to fix anything. 

A few moments later and Obito was weaving through the crowd of students towards them. “We can leave.” He said quickly to them, nudging them towards the exit. “Although Professor Senju looks like he might change his mind if we don’t leave right now.”

Neither one of them needed to be told twice and they made for the exit before anyone noticed them. The auditorium they were in at Iwa was located in the center of their campus, so the trio had to find their way through a collection of other buildings just to reach the city. Granted the campus was like a haven compared to the rest of city, offering a more peaceful/park-like theme compared to the hustle and bustle of the surrounding area. As a former student to Iwa, Obito knew all the ways to avoid the traffic of students by ducking through less common routes that were unmarked with sidewalks. Ironically he was already calling them a ride for when they reached the edge of the campus. 

“You must be used to this sort of thing.” Yūgao said to him. “Being in the city, I mean.”

Obito shrugged then gestured towards where a cop car was sitting. “You learn to make connections.”

Yūgao frowned slightly, and Kakashi knew already what she was thinking. That wasn’t an Uber ride. 

A man was leaning against the car and smiled at them when they got close. “Been a while, kid. How’s the new school treating you?”

“Oh shut up, you’re hardly old than me.” Obito clasped hands with him and gave a friendly bro hug. “But there’s more competition at Konoha. Speaking of,” Obito turned to his fellow grad students. “This is Hatake Kakashi and Uzuki Yūgao. Guys, this is Uchiha Kagami, another cousin of mine.”

“You guys must breed like rabbits.” Kakashi grinned, shaking his hand in turn. 

Kagami laughed good naturedly. “And most of us go into the police force. In some ways we completely control this place. Speaking of,” Kagami glanced at Obito, “Have you met up with your uncle yet?”

“Nope.” Obito waved the thought away like it was a passing thought. “Anyways, thanks for the last minute pick-up. I figure more people will avoid you than avoid a taxi.”

“Not with the way some of these people drive.” Kagami tapped the top of his car. “Let’s go, I have to make my rounds after dropping you guys off.”

Obito hopped into the passenger seat while the others crawled into the back. It was very neat, almost too neat for comfort, but Kakashi assumed that was because they were required to take such good care of it. Or it could be that Kagami didn’t arrest people very often. 

Yūgao leaned forward as the car took off into the streets. “Hey Obito, does your uncle work for the police too?” 

She regretted asking instantly as Obito slumped in the chair in front of her. Kagami observed the reaction and laughed again. “His uncle is actually the police chief.”

What sort of childhood did Obito have after moving to this city? Given the way that Obito had avoided the police station and cars through their tour the previous day, he couldn’t have imagined it being good. Even Itachi mentioned that their uncle didn’t know Obito had transferred until he had already left. 

Kagami reached towards the walkie-talkie that was attached to the center console. “Should I phone him for you, Obito?”

Obito slapped at his hand. “Focus on driving, he’s got better things to do like saving cats from trees.”

“Or talking to his runaway nephew.”

“Runaway?” Yūgao asked, but her question went overlooked.

“Keep trying,” Obito responded, “The first thing I’ll tell him is what you did in your senior year of high school.”

Kagami’s face blanched. “You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

“Well what about your mix up the first time you went to college.”

Obito’s eyes widened. “How do you know about that?”

“We’ve all got friends.”

Kakashi laughed from the backseat, distracting the two up front. “What is this? A contest over who has the most secrets to dig up?”

“Your name is Kakashi, right? You ever met Madara?”

Kakashi shook his head but then remembered Kagami wouldn’t see it. “No, only heard of him.”

Obito felt a shiver in his spine but managed to cover it up. “He’s the kind of guy who would scold you for using a fork to eat something small like peas instead of a spoon. The man finds fault in nearly everything, so you can imagine how he would react to something big.”

Kagami, however, did shiver. “And there’s a number of stupid shit I would like for him to never know about. This brat on the other hand,” he pointed to Obito accusingly, “Decided at some point in his life that pushing his uncle’s buttons was a fun idea which only caused issues for the rest of us.”

“Oh please, what did it ever do to you?” Obito objected. 

“It made him irritable!”

“He’s always irritable!”

“That’s true but still! He was like double irritable. He scheduled us for double gym time one day. Do you realize how terrible that was?”

“You probably needed it, you fatass.”

Kakashi and Yūgao shared an amused look as they listened to the two of them bicker in the front of the car. Obito seemed to find a way to get along with everyone, even if it meant they were going to sit and complain about the same person. Leaning towards Yūgao, Kakashi whispered, “I don’t know about you, but I have a feeling meeting Madara wouldn’t be in our best interest.”

Yūgao nodded, “He sounds a bit like a control freak.”

“I wonder what would happen if we ran into him.”

“Hey!” Obito glanced back at them. “Don’t you put that evil on us.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Kagami assured him as they turned down a new street. “Madara is on the other side of town taking part in a joint investigation with the FBI and before you can ask, no I can’t give you details. The only thing I can tell you is that the perp is targeting single women on their own.”

“You’ll be with us, Yūgao, so no worries.”

“And you’ve got a police escort!” Kagami said happily. “See how useful I am?”

Obito tapped him on the arm. “Hey, useful, we’re about to miss our stop.”

 

“I am the unluckiest person alive.” Obito moaned, placing his forehead against the machine as he listened to Kakashi’s release a vast amount of coins again. 

Kakashi picked up a quarter and offered it good naturedly. “One more?”

Obito shook his head, still up against the machine. “Nope. I think I’ll accept my losses and go back to the hotel with what’s left of my dignity.”

“I didn’t know someone could be that bad at a slot machine.” Kakashi admitted, gathering his winnings so he could combine them all at the front.

Obito finally detached himself from the machine, supporting a small red mark centering his forehead. “You’re paying for the cab.”

Fair, considering he had been treated to a meal earlier. Kakashi had never really gambled, so he figured that their roles would be reversed. They had walked Yūgao to the hotel before deciding to go to the local mall when the found it overcrowded by outside college kids. So instead, they decided to try their hand at the casino. As a resident, he thought Obito would know all the tricks. Turns out it did come down to luck after all, and Obito had none of it. Good to know which one of them would have better luck with the lottery. Excusing himself, Kakashi left Obito to ‘gather his dignity’ while he met up with one of the workers at the exchange desk. The amount of time it took to change coins to cash was remarkably quick although that was go be expected in a casino. Then again the building was rather packed so they were likely just trying to get people in and out as fast as they could. 

He pocketed the money into his wallet and made for the exit to find Obito. It was getting late and they still had to get up early for the awards presentation tomorrow. Students in the contest were already calculating the outcome of the contest, but there were still many unknowns with some of the other challenges that wouldn’t be announced yet. Particularly from the science or culinary portions. 

As he turned a corner that gave a view towards the exit, he noticed that Obito wasn’t alone. Nor was he in his relaxed mood. Everything about him screamed tense and pissed and judging from the man next to him in a suit, he could guess who it was. 

So this was Uchiha Madara – Obito and Itachi’s uncle. Every description of him couldn’t be more accurate. His face pulled into a judgmental, demeaning look. The way his presence was commanding attention with unspoken authority. Even those passing by him looked a little nervous. All except Obito who remained defiant and determined to hold his own. There was no way anyone could mistake the family resemblance with the shared dark hair, black eyes and tanned skin. Only Madara’s was longer and pulled back slightly with bulkier features.

Kakashi edged along the wall, unsure of whether he should interrupt their meeting or wait patiently. He opted to eavesdrop instead.

“…see you gambling. Really, Obito?” his uncle was scolding him. “Of anything you could be doing with your life, you’re here?”

Obito made a face of false surprise. “Wow, uncle, I didn’t expect to see you here either. Catching people on the street not good enough for you? Got to come find trouble where there isn’t any?”

“Don’t start with me, brat.”

Obito crossed his arms in a similar fashion to what his uncle was doing. On one hand, it was a standoff between two pissed off individuals. On the other hand, it looked supremely childish. “What are you doing here anyway? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just to come say hi to me.”

Madara realized how similar they looked and quickly dropped his arms. “I got a tip that someone I was looking for is here.”

“Then don’t let me distract you.”

He stepped around his uncle and made for the exit, but his uncle grabbed his arm. Rather than just pull him to a stop, he pulled Obito back so he was standing in front of him. “We aren’t done talking yet.”

Were it in any other location, Kakashi was sure Obito would have gone off on his uncle for treating him like a child. Instead, he clenched his jaw and glared. Half of Kakashi's mind was telling him to go over then, to interrupt and give Obito the excuse he needed to avoid his uncle. The other half told him to remain there and wait.

“What?” The words couldn’t have held more ice in them had they been said in a snowstorm. 

His uncle was unfazed. “What are you doing in Chikyū? I thought you decided to move to Kasai.”

Obito pulled his arm free of the grip. “Future Scholars Competition. I did send you a text if you had bothered to check your phone.” He answered bluntly. 

“And you’re gambling? Shouldn’t you be studying?”

“Shouldn’t you be doing your job instead of questioning me?” Obito fired back. “Besides, the competition is over anyways.”

“And? Who won?”

“We find out tomorrow. That’s also when we leave.”

Madara nodded thoughtfully. “I had heard about that. I didn’t know you had been selected as a competitor.”

“I wouldn’t be here otherwise.” Obito glanced around the casino, but Kakashi couldn’t tell if he was searching for him or simply wanting to avoid eye contact with his uncle. Either or both was plausible. 

“I don’t suppose any of your friends came with you.” He actually laughed at that. “You didn’t pick the brightest of friends. Are you still hanging out with that drug dealer?”

“Zetsu doesn’t sell drugs.” Obito responded through clenched teeth. 

“Oh? Then how was it that I came back to find you high in my living room? That boy does have a record already.”

“That was an accident. Whether or not you believe me is your problem.” He seemed to give up his search. “Any other questions? I’d like to get back to my hotel at some point tonight.”

Madara fell silent, simply thinking to himself or stalling while figuring out what else to say. Obito waited for a fraction of a minute then took a small step towards the door. When his uncle didn’t stop him, he took another with the full intention of leaving.

Then Madara asked something that even shocked Kakashi.

“Have you visited your parents yet?”

This was the first time Kakashi had seen anything remotely similar to hurt cross Obito’s features. He was past his uncle enough so that he couldn’t see, but it was painstakingly visible to Kakashi. "Why are you bringing them up?"

"I'll take that as a no." Madara sighed. "Look, just because you don't remember them-."

"That's not it!" Obito's voice rose dangerously, his fists clenched tightly on either side of him. He took one step back to face his uncle, anger now replacing hurt on every part of him but his eyes. "That's not it and you know it."

For a moment they were the only two in the room. Obito radiating sheer fury with Madara's passiveness. Perhaps, Kakashi thought, now would be a good time to interject between them. He took a single step toward forward when Madara finally narrowed his eyes in a similar fashion to the look Obito was giving him. "Still acting like a child, huh? Still causing problems where there's no need for it. Maybe you shouldn't have left Chikyū. You've already made enough questionable decisions on your own. Are you capable of handling yourself, or are you just going along for the ride until you crash and burn?"

Obito quickly closed the space between them, but didn't grab at his uncle the way Kakashi thought he would have. "Oh fuck you, uncle. I've handled myself just fine. But let's look at your decisions, shall we? How much of my past in Kasai did you know about that you didn't tell me? How many people did you cut off from my life for no reason? Were you just tired of being the black sheep of the family that you had to drag me down to be just as miserable as you?"

"What do you know about the things I've done for you? Need I remind you how many times I've taken care of you when no one else would? You're years too early to be questioning my judgement, brat. _I'm_ not the one that's been running away."

There was no way he was going to let that just go. Stepping away from his hiding spot, he walked straight towards them in the best aloof attitude he usually had. Inside, however, he was furious at the man for whatever emotional blow he just delivered. 

“Yo, Obito. Are you ready to leave?”

Obito flinched, only just noticing Kakashi, but gathered himself quickly. When he turned to face Kakashi, his features were completely stoic. “Yeah.”

Madara looked between them, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. “And this is?” he prompted Obito, clearly expecting to be introduced. 

Placing his hand on Kakashi’s back, he ushered him quickly towards the front exit. “None of your damned business.”

Kakashi allowed himself to be led out, but he couldn’t help but glance back at Madara. The man was actually smirking at them, like he had some wild idea in his head. Kakashi turned his gaze from Madara to Obito then, wondering what he could say. “I guess your luck can’t get worse.”

“Not true,” Obito responded, “It could start raining.”

“I think with how chilly it is here, we’re more likely to get snow.” 

Kakashi flagged down a taxi and allowed Obito to get in before sitting next to him. The first thing that Obito did was stare out the window, lost in whatever funk that Madara had put him in. Not that Kakashi could entirely blame him. What was the deal with the question about Obito’s parents? From what he was aware of, they had died in the car crash. Were their graves in the city? Unfortunately, he couldn’t bring himself to ask Obito. The last time he had ever brought up Obito’s parents, Obito had gotten pissed off at him and he had no intention of reliving that moment. Making jokes about Madara wouldn’t be in the wisest taste, and nothing was coming to Kakashi’s mind that could cheer him up. 

Suddenly Obito sighed. “Before you turn right up ahead, I should warn you that I was a former resident of Chikyū and I know when you’re taking the long route.”

The driver cringed and turned off the turn signal.

“Not wanting to take the scenic route?” Kakashi asked, glancing out the window towards where they would have turned. 

Obito merely shrugged and fell back silent. 

Damn, Kakashi wished he were better in situations such as this. Even as kids, he had always relied on Rin to make tense situations better. It was impossible not to feel happy around her when she was cheering you up, but Kakashi doubted he had that type of charm. Rin would usually make a really bad joke. Or she would bring up some positive memory of a time they all shared. She might tell a funny story of something that happened while on a family trip, or just tell them a random fairy tale she would have just made up. The last one was about a Prince who fell in love with a squirrel. What would any of their friends do? They might start insulting Madara with colorful vocabulary or plan to do something to spite him. Konan would probably be one of the few logical ones that would simply suggest going to see a movie or some other calming event. 

Before Kakashi could figure out which mental suggestion to act on, Obito was poking his face. Kakashi was too baffled to respond, so Obito pinched his cheek and wiggled it. “Why the long face? Weren’t you just winning a few minutes ago?”

Kakashi swatted away the hand. “I should be saying that to you. You were the one pouting.”

Obito made a ‘hmph’ noise. “I don’t pout.”

“Oh?” Kakashi pulled back Obito’s bangs to examine his head. “You had a red mark here earlier if I’m remembering correctly.”

Finally, Obito cracked a smile. “Okay, I might pout a bit.” 

“A bit?”

“Don’t push it, jerk.”

Kakashi chuckled but relented, glad that Obito was talking now. Figures that he would be the one to try and cheer Kakashi up instead. Their situation was so backwards. 

“Next time should I channel my inner thrill seeker and threaten your uncle before he has the chance to be an asshole again?”

Obito’s face fell slightly. “Heard that, did you?” He ran his hand through his hair, frowning. “He’s loads of fun, huh?”

“He needs a haircut.”

Obito bust out laughing. “Believe it or not, there was a time I grew out my hair too so I can’t exactly fault him for that. High school held some interesting times.”

Kakashi rested his head against his hand, trying to picture Obito with longer hair. “You seem to have a lot of interesting times. Getting high, huh?”

“Zetsu’s brownies. All I saw was sugary product in his fridge and whatever he put in it was strong as hell. I didn’t know what hit me until like two and a half brownies in. I spent the entire day watching images out of nothing. Pretty sure my reflection talked to me once.”

“And your uncle found you?”

“Oh yeah. Zetsu had just brought me home and was trying to keep me from doing something stupid. Man Madara was pissed, but all he did was send me to my room and sent Zetsu home. Zetsu's parents are pretty chill, so he got off easy. I was grounded for the next month.”

“You don’t sound that disheartened.”

Obito grinning slyly. “I told him I was studying at Kakuzu’s and spent time with friends instead. Kakuzu was my fallback for every time I got in major trouble; he seemed to be the only one my uncle trusted. Probably because he’s a banker.” He patted the drivers chair. “Pull over here please.”

The driver obeyed and Kakashi paid for their trip, leaving a nice tip, then followed Obito out of the car. They were hardly a block or so away from the hotel, but the car would have had problems getting in with all the traffic. Seemed like they weren’t the only ones to think that a night out was necessary and there were many taxis. Then again it was a nice hotel and there were bound to be plenty of late night party people wanting to get around. 

The elevators were bound to be just as crowded as they were before, so together they opted to take the stairs again. Obito took them two at a time while Kakashi took a more leisurely pace. Before he realized it, Obito was two flights ahead of him. 

“What’s up with you?” Kakashi leaned over the railing to look up at him. “Did you want to take a shower first or something?”

“You’re too slow.” Came Obito’s echo. His head peeked back three flights up. “Why are you being so slow? Tired already?”

“It’s almost midnight already.” Kakashi gave a small yawn. “We have to be up at six. I’m not looking forward to it.”

Obito smirked at him. “I once stayed awake for three days. Stop being a wimp.”

“Some of us are smart enough to know when sleep is needed.”

“I repeat: you wimp.” He finished the last flight of stairs and exited before Kakashi. 

Refusing to give in to his jibes, Kakashi continued at his pace and exited the staircase a few minutes later. When he finally entered his apartment, he found himself to be correct about his earlier question. Obito was already in the shower.

Kakashi figured he would get one in the morning. They always helped him way up anyways. He changed into a pair of sweatpants and crawled into the recently made bed, shifting so that his back was to the center and reaching towards his phone charger. The first thing he did was check the Groupme.

> Kisame: _Did they win yet? I’m at work and they won’t change the channel._  
>  Itachi: _A group of seniors are on right now. Something to do with poetry. It’s boring as hell._  
>  Sasori: _Don’t dis my double major. I will insult you using big words._  
>  Deidara: _He’ll probably go the Shakespeare route and create a few new ones for you._  
>  Konan: _They’ll be on next Kisame. Will keep you updated._

Kakashi scrolled through some of the casual chat, interested to see how they took the competition when their friends were on screen. 

> Zetsu: _They’re on._  
>  Kisame: _Who’s going first?!_  
>  Zetsu: _Kakashi is. Something to do with fixing a fake animal. Sort of looks like a stuffed animal from this point of view._  
>  Nagato: _A stuffed animal that bleeds? Get your eyes checked, man._  
>  Kisame: _Who’s winning?_  
>  Konan: _Hard to tell, but Kakashi’s being a lot more chill than the other chick. It’s like she’s got something rotten under her nose._  
>  Deidara: _Like a dead animal? >_> _  
>  Itachi: _Kakashi just won. Obito’s next._  
>  Kakuzu: _Is he choking, or does he actually have a grip?_  
>  Konan: _Oh no, you can tell he’s freezing up. Round just started and he’s glancing at the paper and everything else like he’s confused._  
>  Hidan: _Hang on, I’m recording everything. My chance at revenge has come!_  
>  Nagato: _Finally!_  
>  Kisame: _What are they talking about?_  
>  Deidara: _Who knows._  
>  Konan: _Oh wait, he’s looking better now._  
>  Kisame: _I bet this isn’t even a challenge for him anymore. If it has anything to do with biology, you may as well be giving him first grade math._  
>  Nagato: _DAMN IT_  
> 

Kakashi grinned at the phone, loving the total faith that came from his friends. They went on to talk about the next competitors for a while and then started estimating the winners between the two schools. Only Kakuzu seemed to have any lasting feelings towards Iwa, but the rest of them were firmly against it. At least they were loyal to the school they went to.

The bathroom door opened behind him, but Kakashi didn’t bother glancing back. It was pretty obvious who it was, and if he was wearing the same thing as last time then he was only in basketball shorts. Kakashi already knew what he looked like, and didn’t want to be almost caught staring again. Last night Kakashi had to make the really bad excuse of zoning out when Obito noticed him admiring the shirtless view.

The bed shifted as Obito flopped down and flipped his lamp off. The room went dark save for the light from Kakashi’s phone. He set an alarm for the morning and set it to the side, letting the room become completely black. 

The first night he had expected Obito to be the kind of person that would fall asleep to the television going. It wouldn’t have been the first time they fell asleep watching a movie or playing a video game like they had in the past. Instead, Obito had fallen asleep faster than anyone he had seen before. Even now he was sure Obito would be asleep in only a few minutes.

As quiet as the room was, he could hear his own breathing and Obito’s next to him. It was actually rather peaceful instead of awkward silence. When they had woken up, Kakashi first since it was his alarm and Obito was a heavy sleeper, he was pleased to find that at some point they had gotten closer to each other. Kakashi still had his back towards the center, but Obito had relocated until he was leaning against him. He could feel Obito’s breathe between his shoulder blades and a portion of his head and arms laying against the rest of his back. 

It was all he could do to not turn around and look for fear of waking him up. He figured that if Obito woke up, he might be embarrassed or move away. So he stayed there for a few moments, wondering what would happen if he tried to get up and move. It was incredibly relaxing, but his second alarm would have gone off then with a louder ringtone. Instead of allowing Obito to wake up that way, he moved as softly as he could and slid off the bed, heading towards the bathroom before Obito opened his eyes. 

“Kakashi?”

Kakashi’s eyes opened slightly although he could still hardly see much of anything. Only a portion of the city lights broke from around the curtains. “Yeah?”

“Tell me a story from our childhood.”

Kakashi turned towards him before he could stop, shocked by the request. Obito was actually interested now? More than anything Kakashi wanted to ask why, but the only thing that came out was, “Like what?”

“Anything,” Obito supplied, “Whatever the first thing you think of is.”

There were loads of things he would have liked to share. The first time they met, their first moment of rivalry, when they stopped people from bullying Rin, or even the first time Obito said he liked him. That might be a bit much for a first story though. 

Kakashi laid flat on his back, running through all the memories he had that would be a vivid story. “Hmm…” he wondered to aloud. “How about our first sleepover?”

 

 **Second Grade**  
“Kakashi, why don’t you go play with the other students?”

His counselor was crouched next to him, offering a sympathetic look. For the past two weeks, each of his teachers had taken a turn to try and get him included with the other students and each one of them had failed. Now they were relying on the school’s ‘feelings teacher’ to try and appeal to his better nature or something. 

He wasn’t having it. Crossing his arms over his legs, he shrugged. “I don’t want to.”

Not entirely true. For the first week he had played with them, but no matter what team he was on he always won. He was quickly becoming tired of the lack of challenge, and others were now considering him either a cheat or too advanced for them. One by one his fellow classmates had stopped inviting him and he could take the hint

That was, unfortunately, not something the shrink was grasping onto. “Has anyone said something to you that made you feel you couldn’t be included?”

“No,” he assured her. “I like sitting here.”

She had every reason to be skeptical, but he also had every reason to sit here. Unless he admitted anything or another student spoke up, she couldn’t force him into any sort of therapy or activity he didn’t want to do. Part of Kakashi wondered if she would call his dad. 

She nodded in the direction of a few boys playing with a basketball. “You know, Obito just got back from a late family trip. He’s probably feeling just as out of place as you.”

Kakashi followed her gaze to the kid who kept trying to dribble the ball on his own foot, sending it flying. The other kids were getting a kick out of watching him struggle to figure out how to play the game correctly, and he laughed along but there was still a hint of embarrassment from him. His constant scratching of the back of his head or determined tight lipped face as he tried to shoot the ball to the basket. His aim was terrible. 

Kakashi hoped for his sake that he never joined a school sport.

Obito had come back to school a few weeks late, so it was understandable that he would have been a little behind on classwork. Still, another girl in his class had been helping him the entire time and Obito had barely made a mark on the workload that he had to make up. This kid was quite possibly the slowest person he knew or the laziest. 

He frowned. “No thanks.”

“Kakashi, making friends is an important part of childhood.” The counselor told him gently. She patted him lightly on the head. “Give it some time, there’s bound to be someone here you’ll like being around.”

He couldn’t have doubted her words more if he tried, but nodded along respectfully. She seemed to find that enough for now and soon left him alone. Why did adults seem to think it was okay to run the playground? Kids were supposed to be free to do whatever they wanted here, but the minute Kakashi wanted to be by himself it was suddenly a bad thing. He sighed, wishing he had brought his book out with him. Maybe then the teacher wouldn’t think he was depressed or anything and stop bothering him. 

“Um…”

The same girl from his class, Rin, wandered over to him. At first Kakashi thought she was addressing someone else until she stopped before him. 

“What?” he asked, squinting up at her. 

She adjusted so that she blocked the sun on his face. “You’re really good in English class, right? Do you enjoy it?”

Kakashi stopped from telling her he was good in every class and merely nodded. Father was always telling him that bragging was beneath him and rude.

Rin grinned at him. “I’m not so good at it. Do you think you could help me explain it to Obito? I’ve been trying to help him with his homework after school, I’m terrible at explaining it. I’m much better in Social Studies class.”

“Just ask one of the teachers.” He suggested. Why should he be helping another student when it was a teacher’s job? 

She fidgeted nervously. “Well, he doesn’t want to ask a teacher. He thinks it’s uncool if it seems like he needs a tutor.”

That was the dumbest thing Kakashi had ever heard before. His gaze strayed over to Obito just as the basketball rebounded off his face and knocked him on his back. It wasn’t so strange to think that someone like him needed a tutor. 

“Sorry, you’ll have to find someone else.” He told her, wanting no part in helping her boost her friend’s ego. Maybe if Obito had come up and asked him personally he would have considered it, but working through friends was just a cowardly way of dealing with your own problems. Rin looked ready to try and argue for her friend, but the whistle blew and the students were calling in the students by their class. Ignoring her, Kakashi ran to fall in line with his fellow students. 

Luckily Kakashi’s seat was further away from Rin and Obito when they got back inside, so there was no worry about having them persist in asking for his help. Then again, Rin seemed to have given up and was asking other students. Obito, on the other hand, was trying to make it appear like he was following along with the teacher’s lecture while doing his makeup work on a folder on his lap. 

Kakashi sighed. Obito should really just wait to do that after class or even during recess so that he could focus on learning the new material. No wonder he was so far behind. The rest of the day went by smoothly with Kakashi finishing his work not long after the teacher explained it. Some kid next to him was trying to look off his paper so he had developed a habit of flipping it over when he was finished. This, naturally, gained the attention of his teacher who then made it obvious to everyone else how quickly he could get it done. What were the odds he could convince his father to homeschool him? He could possibly skip a few grades that way.

Finally, the classes were dismissed and kids were running to their bags so they could get first dibs on bus seats. Kakashi tried to reach between two students and pull his bag from between them, but in the process they were jostled around and some of the contents spilled out. He quickly retrieved his notebook and calculator, but another paper slipped out that he had forgotten his father put in there. Birthday invitations. Luckily it was only one and he could quickly grab it before anyone saw. The last thing he needed was for his father to figure out he never intended to invite anyone. 

Just before his fingers would have wrapped around the paper, it was knocked up by someone walking by and flew further down the hall. Kakashi gave chase, debating on diving for it, but it was grabbed before he had the chance. He followed the hand up and nearly groaned when he saw who picked it up. 

Obito glanced over the paper then up to see Kakashi standing in front of him. Instantly, a giant smile came over him and Kakashi felt his mood worsen. “This yours?”

“Yes, it’s mine.” Kakashi snatched it back, trying to stop himself from getting embarrassed. 

The Uchiha kid didn’t seem bothered. “Sleepover, huh? Who all do you have going so far?” He placed his hands behind his head and gave a small laugh. “You’re pretty popular, right? Bet you have half the class already.”

Refusing to be mocked, Kakashi shoved the invite into his bag and refused to answer. He hadn’t invited anyone, and the only reason he had attention in class was because he was smart. No one here was actually his friend, so how could Obito even think that he had people wanting to hang out with him. Clearly he isn’t observant to anything going on around him. 

“Mind your own business.” Kakashi mumbled and shouldered past Obito, trying to get to the bus before someone stole his favorite spot. He enjoyed the seat right behind the bus driver where he was less likely to be bothered. All the loud kids crowded the back anyways. 

Just as he was exiting the building, Kakashi cast a backwards glance towards Obito. The kid had met up with Rin already, but his face no longer held the wide smile. He looked concerned while Rin merely shrugged. He was probably seeing if she managed to find anyone to help tutor him. Either way, Kakashi figured it wasn’t his problem and moved on before they had a chance to talk to him again.

 

Kakashi sat in the center of his living room, surrounded by all the puppies his father had adopted while reading one of his favorite novels for what seemed to be the hundredth time. His father wouldn’t get home for another hour or so, and he might be disappointed to find Kakashi by himself. This was the first time his father pushed for Kakashi to find a friend. 

Seriously, what was everyone’s problem? It wasn’t that Kakashi was against the idea, he just didn’t want to be used by someone the same way his mother had used his father. He used to hear them arguing at night, but during the day acting like nothing was wrong. Kakashi didn’t want a two faced friend like that.

He placed a hand on his pug’s head and scratched behind his ears. Dogs were incredibly loyal creatures, and despite being family dogs it was obvious they preferred Kakashi over his father. He had spent a long time training them, learning to be responsible for another life like his father wanted him to be. It was a favorite pastime of his just to lay with them all, being surrounded like a literal dog pile. 

Kakashi had just flipped the page of his book when the front door knocked. Under normal circumstances, his father had told him to not answer the door when home alone. But this was the first time someone had knocked on the door before without his father getting home and curiosity was winning him over. That, and if they weren’t terrified by Bull’s barking, then they couldn’t be a burglar. 

He got up from where he had been leaning against Bull and pulled a chair to the front door to peek through the hole in the front door. He couldn’t quite see who it was which was upsetting. It must have been a UPS package or a prankster. He stepped off the chair, intending to return to where he had been in the living room, when the doorbell rang again. Pushing the chair aside, Kakashi unlocked the door to reveal Obito grinning widely on the other side with his backpack slug casually over his shoulder. 

Kakashi glanced around to make sure this wasn’t some set up to an elaborate joke and that there wasn’t someone else hidden in the front yard before turning to Obito. “Can I help you?”

“I’m here for your sleepover.” Obito announced. “My parents said it was okay with them so long as they knew your address. I live just down the road, see?” He pointed away towards another street. “It’s the red house with the white door and oak tree out back.”

“I’m not having a sleepover.” Kakashi responded. 

“Eh?” Obito crossed his arms. “But your invite said it was today. I asked Rin if she knew anyone who had been invited and she didn’t even know it was your birthday. Oh!” He set the bag down in front of him and rummaged through it to pull out a box. “This is for you!”

Obito shoved the package into Kakashi’s hands eagerly. It wasn’t wrapped like a gift, but simply duck taped shut. 

Now Kakashi really felt like he was being mocked in some way. “So you realized I didn’t invite anyone and came anyway?”

“Sure!” Obito answered like that wasn’t the weirdest thing for someone to do. “No one likes being alone on their birthday. Is that a dog!? Oh my gosh, he’s as big as a horse! Can I pet him?”

Without waiting for an answer, he rushed inside uninvited and fell to his knees in front of Kakashi’s dog army. Rather than act like the guard dogs they should, they all wagged their tails and eagerly accepted the attention. 

“Hey, wait!” Kakashi tried but got ignored by Obito’s laughs as tongues attacked his face. Soon Bull was standing over his face while the other dogs piled on. Somehow Kakashi couldn’t bring himself to stop him when he was clearly having so much fun. Instead, he simply shut the door and locked it then sought out the kitchen knife to open the box. It must have been a quick purchase if he only used a cardboard box and tape. 

While Obito slowly became buried under fur, Kakashi ripped the package open and pulled out the contents. It was a dark metaled pocket watch. Obito sat up, brushing Pakkun off him in the process, and gave a small laugh when Ūhei licked his face. “I’ve got an aunt who owns a trinket shop and picked that up on my way. I would have gotten it engraved, but I wasn’t entirely sure how to spell your last time.” His voice lowered a bit, “I also wasn’t entirely sure if you’d like it so I still have the receipt if you want to take it back. I was told that was something you do like around Christmas in case you buy someone clothes and they don’t fit. I mean, a watch isn’t clothes, but it’s the same process I think. Also a watch isn’t a toy so it might not be all that interesting, but I figured it would be useful. You read a lot so I figured you might like something more adult-ish.”

His rambling was cut off when another of Kakashi’s dogs jumped at him in a very untrained fashioned and flopped on his chest. 

Kakashi hadn’t realized that Obito had paid that much attention to him before. He assumed Obito was the idiot in class who couldn’t even do his homework right. 

“Thanks.” He said, honestly feeling touched by the gift. He had never owned a pocket watch before, and it looked really nice. It was much better than some sort of children’s toy. He glanced up to where Obito was struggling beneath his dogs and felt himself smile in response. Maybe he had been wrong about Obito after all. He whistled once and all the dogs ran to him instead, sitting in front of him just as he had trained them too. 

Obito’s eyes widened. “Whoa, they listen to you?”

“Of course,” Kakashi answered, patting one on the head. “I raised them. Would you like to know their names?”

Obito jumped to his feet. “Yeah!”

One by one Kakashi introduced his dogs by name, handing treats to Obito to give to them in the process. Each one of them knew the simple tricks like heel, sit, lay down, or shake. Pakkun, the one he had the longest, knew to fetch specific items and Bisuke he had been training to track by scents. Bull was the guard dog, a few were going to be attack dogs as soon as Kakashi researched how to do that, and the rest were yet to be determined. 

“Don’t you have any pets?” Kakashi asked when Obito all but dove into his dogs again. He couldn’t complain since they were all clearly enjoying themselves, but Obito was acting like he had never seen a dog before.

The Uchiha popped his head up from behind Bull. “I’ve got two cats, but I’ve never gotten to play with a dog before. Their breeds don’t mix well is what my mom told me. That or my cats simply don’t like them. But dogs are much more fun!” He draped himself across Bull’s back. “Your dogs are huge!”

“Just Bull.” Kakashi assured him. “By the way, how did you find my house?”

“I recognized your street address and just started knocking on doors until I found yours.” Obito dusted the dog fur from his clothes. “I know I wasn’t formally invited or anything, so I understand if you didn’t want me to stay over or anything, but we can still hang out for today if you’d like.”

Kakashi was hardly going to tell him no after he went through the trouble of finding him to give him a gift. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder why Obito was going so far for someone he didn’t know. “While I appreciate the gift and you coming here, why do it? We don’t even hang out at school.”

Obito grinned widely at him. “I told you, no one likes being alone on their birthday.”

It was so simple that Kakashi was still having a hard time believing it. He didn’t believe that this was a ploy just to get Kakashi to be his tutor, but there had to be some other sort of reason. Their counselor could have set this up, or his dad might have helped plan this, or Obito could have just felt sorry for him. 

Unfazed by Kakashi’s growing doubt, Obito ran to his bag again. “I’m not entirely sure what you like to do, so I brought a few things.” He began pulling them out. “A football, two DS so we can play Mario Party or a racing game I got, uhhhh, I borrowed my mom’s crossword puzzle book but I suck at those to be honest. I also brought cake mix! You like chocolate?” 

As if deciding on his own, he brought the cake mix to the kitchen then started running through the cabinets. “I have no idea where anything is here.”

Obito was really making himself at home, but Kakashi found himself enjoying it rather than being annoyed. He joined Obito in the kitchen and found the necessary materials and laid them out. His guest was about to start adding things at random, clearly not understanding the importance of measurements, so Kakashi stuck him on stirring duty. Somehow Obito found a way to make a mess out of it, splashing himself with cake mix from stirring too much.

That was the first time Kakashi laughed that day, watching Obito struggle to wipe it from his face only to drag it further along his cheek. Seeing it as a challenge, the boy grabbed a spoon and flung it at Kakashi, hitting him directly on the nose. Then, by the time his father had returned home, both boys were on the ground struggling for ownership of the spoon and nearly every flat surface having part of the cake mix on it. Any normal parent would probably get a little upset and tell them that they’ve got to clean it up, but Sakumo merely laughed and told them not to forget the icing. He then proceeded to take the dogs outside before they found it their duty to clean up the kitchen. 

 

 **Present Day**  
“Your dad sounds super lenient.” Obito mumbled into his pillow. 

Kakashi replied with a small laugh. It did seem that way, but his dad was also just happy that Kakashi was making friends. He cast a sideways glance towards Obito, his eyes long since adjusted to the darkness, but couldn’t see his face to figure out what kind of expression he was making. “Obito?”

He saw the man’s head tilt slightly at the mention of his name.

Kakashi took this as a sign to continue. “Can I ask you something now?”

Obito shifted to his stomach and turned to finally look at Kakashi. “Are you going to ask me why I suddenly want to know?”

“Admittedly, that would also be nice to know. But my question was actually: why did you leave Chikyū? The real reason, not something like you enjoy the new scenery.”

Smirking, Obito hid half of his face in the crook of his arm. “You’ve been in this city for two days now, can’t you tell? This place is full of people only looking out for themselves and my legal guardian was hardly the friendliest person. I felt like I was suffocating here. I couldn’t even go to the theater while I was in middle school without my uncle figuring out I was sneaking into R-rated films. I stayed here for college because I thought that once I move away from my uncle, things would get better.” He sighed. “They didn’t.”

“So you left when everyone else did?” Kakashi offered.

Obito grunted. “Actually, leaving was my idea first. That was around the time Kisame graduated and was looking for jobs. Originally I was going to move down to Kasai with him, but everyone else wanted to join in for their own reasons. Kakuzu could easily switch bank locations and the rest of us just needed enroll in Konoha.”

“I take it you don’t regret leaving this place then.”

“No, I don’t.” The sincerity in his voice was overwhelming. “What about you? Thinking back, you have every right to be upset with me for not even trying to reach out to anyone I could have known in Kasai. And then when I actually did meet up with you and Rin-.”

He was halted when Kakashi placed his hand on his head, ruffling his hair. “I’m not mad, and Rin isn’t either. What happened to you is unfortunate, but what matters is that you’re here now.”

Obito reached up to grab onto Kakashi hand, holding it there for just a moment before detaching it from his head. “That just sounds like an excuse.”

“That depends on what you plan on doing from here on out.” Kakashi was still half focusing on where their hands were connected when he answered that. Part of him wanted Obito to share the same feelings he had, to remember the fact that in the past they had mutual feelings for each other. He wanted Obito to act on this and to push their friendship to something more, but mostly he didn’t want Obito to let go.

But realizing the same thing as Kakashi and that they were still connected, Obito did. He shifted his arms beneath his pillow and turned away, giving Kakashi his back and a feeling of disappointment. 

“For now I’m going to sleep.” Obito answered, his voice once again muffled by the pillow. 

At that moment Kakashi wanted to pull Obito towards him, but restrained himself by also turning away and facing the side. In all honesty he should be mad at Obito for not reaching out. For not even being more curious or even wanting visiting the home his parents lived in. But seeing his uncle today, and hearing the story from Itachi, it was understandable to a degree. The fact that Obito was unwilling to learn or even be curious about his past until this moment was aggravating, but tonight he asked about it for the first time. Kakashi wasn’t about to reject that curiosity by staying upset. He meant what he said; he was glad that Obito was back now. 

Despite the space between them, Kakashi still felt the warmth of the person next to him. “Goodnight.” He said at last, but was only answered with soft, deep breathing.


	8. Subtle Hints

“NNNNoooooo!” Yamato’s yell echoed through the apartment, causing his roommate to look up casually from the couch. Last he heard, Yamato was playing a game online called Golf with Your Friends. Not exactly a game you could rage quit over, but considering who he was playing with... “You did not just bunce me out of the way!”

How worth it would it be to get up and shut his door? Kakashi began counting the footsteps it would take and ended up deciding it wasn’t worth it. Shutting the door wouldn’t entirely cancel out the noise anyway. At times like these, he had only one thing to do: run away to another apartment. 

Opening GroupMe, he typed:

> Kakashi: _Anyone free?_  
>  Deidara: _I take it Yamato is yelling just as much as Zetsu is right now?_  
>  Kakashi: _I’m beginning to think he only knows three cuss words._  
>  Deidara: _Where ever we go, I’m in._  
>  Itachi: _Nagato is at work but I’m free. Any suggestions?_  
>  Kakashi: _Anywhere that doesn’t have gamers on the edge of rage quit._  
>  Hidan: _Have you guys eaten lunch?_  
>  Sasori: _It’s 2:00, Hidan, everyone has eaten lunch._  
>  Rin: _There are new flavors at the yogurt shop that Konan works at. I think she’s actually working right now, so we could go and see her._  
>  Hidan: _Oh hell yeah! I’m so in. What are the new flavors?_  
>  Rin: _Well, it’s Christmas themed…_  
>  Kurenai: _I would, but I’ve got a lot of orders at the cake shop. If someone could bring me yogurt, I’d pay them back._  
>  Sasori: _I can do that. I have errands to run that way anyways. Asuma, you want some too?_  
>  Rin: _I actually already have plans to meet with Kurenai, so I can get it instead, Sasori._  
>  Obito: _You assholes woke me up. I collectively hate you all._  
>  Deidara: _< 3_  
>  Kisame: _Dude, why are you still asleep?_  
>  Kakashi: _Late shift?_  
>  Asuma: _I'm out. I don’t eat sweets._  
>  Itachi: _Obito, how’s the new game?_  
>  Deidara: _Oh you have no right to complain about lack of sleep, Obito._  
>  Obito: _:(_  
>  Rin: _So that’s a yes on yogurt?_  
>  Kakashi: _I can drive and fit four people in my car._  
>  Obito: _Shotgun._  
>  Itachi: _Back right_  
>  Deidara: _Back left_  
>  Hidan: _Back left_  
>  Hidan: _Fuck!_  
>  Sasori: _I’m driving my own car, thanks._  
>  Hidan: _I’m going with Sasori._  
>  Sasori: _So long as you don’t mind I’m running errands after._  
>  Rin: _I’ll meet you guys there!_  
>  Kisame: _I’ll swing by Kakuzu’s place and grab him. He’s probably got his phone turned on silent again. This the same one near that barbeque joint?_  
>  Rin: _Yep!_  
>  Kisame: _Sweet, see you guys there._  
> 

“Yamato, a bunch of us are going to a yogurt shop!” Kakashi called to his roommate, but was answered with more yelling. Well, at least he could say tried. He peeked into the room to see Yamato furiously clicking away at a game and decided to leave him to it. He had his own car to catch up with the rest of them if he decided to check his phone any time soon.

He stopped by his room long enough to grab his wallet and keys from his desk and made his way out the door. Obito was just walking out of his apartment, locking the door. He was wearing a Nike collar jacket with a scarf wrapped around himself, his eyes half closed and a yawn escaping him before he turned around. 

“’Morning.” Was all he offered, slipping his hands into his jacket. 

“Afternoon.” Kakashi corrected, leading the way down the stairs. “How late did you stay up?”

Itachi and Deidara were at the end of the stairs waiting for them.

Obito yawned again. “I dunno, seven?”

“More like nine.” Itachi corrected as they grouped towards the parking deck. “Nagato woke me up to ask to borrow my car since his is currently broke. He texted me that your light was still on.”

The older Uchiha shrugged. “Yeah, well, we all do stupid things sometimes. Speaking of stupid, I might do something else stupid when we get there.”

“Say stupid one more time.” Deidara challenged.

Obito climbed into the passenger seat and glanced in the review mirror at him. “You’re stupid.”

Itachi gave a half laugh half cough then quickly changed the subject when the blonde glared his way. “What are you going to do when we get there?”

“You’ll see. Just play along, alright?” Obito laid his head against the window, stifling yet another yawn. “Jeez, I’m never staying up that late again.”

Kakashi began playing all sorts of scenarios in his head in order to be prepared. Obito making a mess of the entire store, bust in singing a song at the top of his lung, openly getting in an argument with the owner, or demanding free yogurt samples or insane discounts. Then again he said that they would need to play along. Maybe he was going to start a fight. It wouldn't be the first time he's seen Obito start something with another person. Just the other day he almost went off on someone who insulted Deidara's hairstyle, and sadly Deidara was going to let him. Lucky Zetsu had been there to stop him before he got close enough to throw a punch.

“It’s not Konan’s birthday, is it?”

“Nah.” Obito dismissed the question with a wave. “Hers is ten days after mine.”

Deidara reached around the headrest to grab Obito by the shoulders. “Hey, tell me what you’re planning. It could be fun. Are you going to try and get someone fired?”

“That almost feels like a shoulder massage.” Obito muttered then added more loudly. “And no, it doesn’t majorly concern you.”

Itachi sighed as his fellow passenger pouted. “You can’t do that, Obito, he’ll never shut up.”

“I’ll give you a shoulder massage.” Deidara tried to bribe him. 

Obito groaned, giving in. “Konan’s been complaining about this bitchy co-worker she keeps being scheduled with. Doesn’t like Konan’s hair, doesn’t like how customers like Konan more, tries to flirt with every living thing with a dick. You know, typical desperate woman traits. So, if she’s there, I’m going to piss her the hell off and make Konan’s day.”

“You’re such a good roommate.” Kakashi cooed at him, smirking as Obito flipped him off. He was now very interested in seeing how Obito planned to do this. 

“But Tobi,” Deidara drew his nickname out, messing with Obito’s hair. “That’s not telling me anything. How are you gonna do it?”

“Keep it up.” Obito challenged. He lazily swatted at Deidara’s hand. “I’m not above crawling into the backseat and kicking your ass.”

“Come at me, bro.”

“Right.” 

Obito unbuckled his seatbelt and began making his way between the car seats. Deidara squealed and tried to shove him back while the other two passengers did their best to stay out of the way. Kakashi attempted to give Obito the room he needed to climb into the back, but he began to be worried that his friend would accidentally kick the shift stick. He slowed just enough at a turn to allow the car ahead to gain space then floored the gas, causing Obito to fly into the backseat. 

Not long after, Itachi crawled into the front seat, taking Obito’s place. He and Kakashi shared an amused look as Deidara and Obito wrestled to the point that by the time they got to the yogurt store, Deidara was on the floor of the car with Obito sitting on his chest, his back resting against the center console. He had managed to restrain one of Deidara's arms and was trying to mess with his face with the other. They pulled up around the same time that Sasori and Hidan were getting out of his car. They greeted Kakashi and Itachi while completely ignoring the other two while they still argued in the back. 

“Can you imagine what it was like when they lived together?” Hidan laughed as Obito held the car door shut while Deidara tried to get out. 

Obito laughed while Deidara continued to try and push the door. “Go to the other side, idiot.”

Deidara tried to come up with a bunch of excuses as to why he wanted to exit out the current side but eventually gave up when he realized no one was listening. He crawled to the other side and reached for the door handle right as Kakashi hit the keys to lock it. More insults came from the inside of the car.

“Hurry up, Deidara, or we’ll leave you there!” Sasori called to him as the group made their way indoors. 

Obito led the group inside, taking notice of Konan behind the register and another worker on the floor refilling the toppings. He made eye contact with his roommate then made a pointed look towards the co-worker. Konan simply frowned and nodded, which was all Obito needed to know. 

He walked up to Konan, putting on his most charming smile and leaned towards her. “Excuse me, miss, but can you explain how this setup works?”

Konan caught on to the ‘we don’t know each other’ act and supplied her best work smile. “There are cups just at the end down there. Pick your size, your yogurt, and toppings and it’s all weighed here at the end.”

Obito followed the gaze down, noticing how the co-worker had her attention on them already, then turned back. “Which one would you suggest?”

Konan leaned towards him, pointing down the aisle and naming the first one that came to mind. Obito, however, wasn’t really listening and was intently staring at Konan. She realized then and paused. 

“You know,” Obito started vaguely, “Not many people around here can pull off the whole galaxy colored hairstyle. Thankfully you’re quite the exception.” He grinned as Konan’s cheeks lit up lightly, as she generally did when paid a compliment because deep down she was just as much of a sappy girl as the rest of them. “Thanks for the suggestions, by the way. I’ll try those then.”

He left her and made his way towards his group of friends, leaning in towards them and making small comments about the ‘cashier up front’ just loud enough for the co-worker to eavesdrop on. Deidara was chuckling and playing the role of enabling frat boy as he told Obito to ‘work that charm’. Sasori came between them claiming that if Obito didn’t get her attention, then he would have to try. Casually they all made comments in turn then realized Kakashi hadn’t said anything and everyone turned expectantly towards him. 

“Well,” Kakashi fiddled with one of the spoons for the toppings. “She’s definitely the most attractive girl in here.”

That got the co-workers attention and she relocated behind the registers, clearly hoping that she would be the next to be seen. 

As Obito was in the middle of not screwing up his work out plan, he got only sugar free yogurt without toppings and skipped the rest of their group to go straight for Konan again. He waited as she began ringing up the weight before he decided to continue their earlier conversation. “I know this is probably a bit forward, but are you by chance seeing anyone right now?”

“No, I’m not.” Konan smiled at him. 

“I’m surprised.” He pulled his wallet out and handed her a twenty despite the entire thing only costing like two or three dollars. “I figured you would have all sorts of guys in here asking the same thing. I guess that means my chances just went up?”

“Chances?” she smirked at him, pressing buttons on the register. “And what chances are you referring to?”

“The chance to take you on a date.” He grabbed a spoon from the side. “Would you like to get some coffee sometime?”

The girl next to them covered a gasp as a cough, but they both ignored her. 

Konan printed his receipt out and wrote at the top before handing that and his change back to him. “Sounds spontaneous. I look forward to it.”

Obito grinned, but picked only the receipt from her hand. “Keep the change.” 

Following his lead, Sasori got into her line as did Kakashi followed by Deidara and Hidan. All three of them ignored the other girl until Rin showed up trailed by Kisame and Kakuzu. 

Obito took the seat closest to the wall and allowed his friends to fill in around them. Kakashi sat to one side of him, amused as he watched all those who followed him give the co-worker the same treatment while Rin got confused over the whole ordeal. Kisame didn’t care about their drama as he loaded the biggest cup he could find with more yogurt than the rest of them. Kakuzu, however, had seen the tip that Obito left and after paying decided to lecture Obito over wasting money over small things. Obito, in turn, insisted that it wasn’t wasted money when girls were involved. 

As he listened to them talk, Kakashi glanced towards Konan and her brown haired co-worker. Seemed Konan was living in the attention she was getting from her undercover friends while the girl, with her back the group, seemed to be getting annoyed. Konan was shrugging and making a comment that the girl only half listened to before walking into the back room. 

“I think your plan worked.” Kakashi announced, nodding towards where Konan was giggling to herself. 

Obito tried looking over their group towards his roommate. “Where’d the other chick go?”

“Back room.” Hidan supplied, comparing his own cup to Kisame’s. “Dude, are you trying to develop diabetes?”

Kisame slapped the man with his spoon. “These flavors aren’t going to be out forever. I got to enjoy them while I can!”

“You didn’t even get the holiday flavors.” Hidan shook his head. “Honestly, since when is green apple a holiday flavor?”

“I mixed it with caramel so now it’s Halloween.”

“Halloween was months ago!”

Kisame merely shrugged, digging into his wrong holiday themed snack - well in his case it was basically a meal. 

Kakashi had to admit, now that Obito was back and brought all his friends from Chikyū with him, things had gotten a lot more interesting. There were more people to do things with, and everyone had their own flair that made them unique. His eyes strayed to the man sitting next to him, hardly touching his yogurt and laughing along with the rest of their group. They were still going on about Konan, although their compliments were now becoming random like the number of freckles she had or the way she tied her shoe laces. From the way she continued laughing, she was listening in and enjoying every minute of it. 

Rin leaned past Hidan to give her childhood friends a confused look. “Is someone going to explain to me what’s going on here?”

“That’s what I’d like to know.”

Their group fell silent as a guy who had just walked in glared their group down. The look Rin had before was now shared amongst all of them. 

Kakuzu spoke up first, completely nonchalant about someone glaring daggers at them. “Can we help you?”

“I’m the boyfriend of Fūka, the girl that works here. She just called saying there’s a bunch of customers harassing her. Is that you?”

Obito actually turned away from the guy trying to cover up his laughing and made small gestures towards Konan. He must have been mouthing words because a moment later Konan was also hiding her smile behind her hand. 

The man didn’t fail to notice and slammed his hands down on the table. “You got something you want to say to me?”

Kisame was standing at an intimidating height next to him in a heartbeat. “You got something you want to say to _us_?”

“Relax, Kisame.” Obito said, leaning forward onto the table and grinning up at their antagonizing friend. “If anyone has a right to be annoyed with any of us, it’s that gorgeous woman over there. We haven’t shut up about her since the second we stepped foot in this place.”

“And in the process you’ve been bashing on my girlfriend.” The man was brave to continue going against them. Seriously, what did he expect? To win against a bunch of guys in which half of them considered the gym a second home? 

Sasori sighed, bored with the confrontation. “How exactly did your girlfriend say we insulted her?”

The man flipped his phone out and showed it to him. “Calling her unattractive and openly ignoring her or disregarding her. She mentioned one of you even tried to hit on her.” He pulled his phone back to flip through it. “Some dude with ‘short black hair’. Sound familiar?” His eyes fell on Obito with a dark look. Kakashi would have bet anything he was about to take a swing.

Obito, rather than try to defend himself, just laughed at the man openly. “I hate to break it to you, but your girlfriend is a liar.” 

The man grabbed Obito by the front of his shirt and pulled him forward across the table. Kakashi was on his feet in a heartbeat, as was nearly everyone else. “Say that again you bastard. Fūka doesn’t lie.” 

Kisame looked between them but then seemed to realize something and his eyes widened slightly. “Hey, Tobi, you’re not going to-.”

Too late. Obito had already reached for the guy and pulled him forward to put their faces so close they were not even inches from kissing. He had a smirk on his face, almost daring the other man to push him away. "Would you like for me to prove to you that I'm not interested in your girlfriend?" He said in a tone that Kakashi only barely managed to catch. 

Kakashi couldn’t tell who was stunned more: him, the poor guy, or Rin as she covered her mouth in shock. He knew which one of them was going to come to his senses first though, and most of it was because of sheer piss and vinegar. 

Kakashi grabbed Obito by the arm and pulled him back, placing himself firmly between them. “If you’re done debating whether to make out with my boyfriend now, you can take your inflated ego somewhere else. We’ve got no interest in your girlfriend or whatever rumors she’s trying to spread.”

The silence that followed was nearly deafening as no one quite knew how to respond. The only sound in the entire store was from the radio playing music in the speakers above them. For the most part, some were still in shock because of Obito’s actions. For the rest, it was because of Kakashi’s bold exclamation. He should have been just as surprised as them, but he was a little pissed off at the moment. It wasn’t even the guy’s fault, but how dare he be touched by Obito like that? He didn’t even have the decency to move away before Kakashi made him. 

“That’s bullshit!” Fūka decided to come back from the back room then to witness her boyfriend being molested by the same people making her feel inferior. “You’ve spent the entire time here hitting on Konan.”

“I thought I was hitting on you?” Obito taunted her, wrapping his arm around Kakashi’s waist and leaning into him. Kakashi did his best to now show how much that movement made his body grow warm as he accepted the embrace. “Plus, Konan is my roommate. It would be a little weird to flirt with her when we live together and I have a boyfriend, don’t you think?”

Ayame looked at a loss then glared at them all. “She wrote her phone number on your receipt! I saw her do it!”

His smirk growing wider, Obito pulled the paper from his pocket and handed it to Kakashi. “Please read this aloud.”

Kakashi smoothed it out before doing as asked. “Bring Chinese home.” He placed it down on the table so that any of them could look and confirm the words on it. “Actually, that sounds pretty good.”

Before any of their friends could retort, the guy who Obito had nearly kissed finally seemed to gain some sense. He turned to her, putting his back to the rest of them. “You and I will be talking later, Fūka. I’ve got to go back to work.”

They watched him leave the building and walk down the outlet stores before Hidan made an ‘oh’ noise. “I knew I recognized him! He works at the Total Nutrition store just a few buildings down!”

Fūka made a sound of frustration and rushed back to the room she had just left while Konan laughed with the rest of them. That explained his macho man personality and busted ego.

Konan made her way from around the counter with a rag under the guise of wiping down tables, but stopped by her friends. “I’m going to enjoy the next few days. I seriously owe you guys.” She moved her gaze to where Kakashi and Obito still had an arm around each other. “The boyfriend part was almost believable though. Something we should know about you two?”

Deidara squeezed between the two boys. “That’s true. Usually Kisame jumps on the chance to be Obito’s pretend boyfriend.”

“My role got stolen.” Kisame pouted, planting his butt in the seat again. 

As much as Kakashi wanted to deny it, they were right. He had acted without thinking which in itself was an abnormal thing. They all knew him well enough at this point to know how out of character that was, and finding an excuse wasn’t going to be easy. He released Obito and mimicked Kisame’s actions. “I think you guys are negatively influencing me.”

“Negatively?” Sasori asked. “This was all highly amusing from where I’m sitting."

“I wonder what else we can get them to do.” Konan wondered aloud.

Kisame’s face twisted in dark humor. “Well they’ve already made out before. Next time let’s lock them in a closet.”

“Not in my closet.” Konan said quickly. “I’ve got carpet in there and stains are hard to get out.”

“Alright, let’s stop delving into our love lives now, shall we?” Obito slumped in his chair and played absently with his yogurt cup. 

Itachi nudged Obito’s chair with his leg, sending it scooting closer to Kakashi. “Don’t feel bad, cousin. Between the two of you, you’ve had more action than Kisame has seen in the last few months.”

“What? And how would you know that?” Kisame fired back. 

The only person to notice Obito trying to hide how red his face had gotten was Rin as he found the bottom of his cup suddenly very interesting. Kakashi had been inspecting a particular spot on the wall for a long minute now, finding it more stimulating than the conversation.

She could remember these two making all sorts of jokes and laughing at embarrassing things together. Like about how they were going to live together when they grew up to avoid bad roommates and separate taxes. They would jokingly say that they were all going to marry each other in a three-way wedding – well that was more of Obito than Kakashi, but Kakashi had approached the idea more from a logical standpoint. Yet as she looked at them now, she could tell instantly that they had changed. The way they had acted since Kakashi’s birthday, how they always ended up hanging out with each other the most, and now Kakashi’s reaction to Obito showing another person any sort of affection. Things were falling into place. They were so obviously dancing around each other in a way she found infuriated and endearing all at once.

Obito’s friends he had brought back from Chikyū probably didn’t see it, as they were all pretty open with their sexuality and teasing. Even someone like Deidara who was completely secure in his heterosexuality was okay with jokes pairing him with someone else - so long as it was understand that it was a joke. They probably assumed Kakashi was falling in line with the rest of them, feeling open to ‘pretend’ to be in relationships or act in a way they found funny or a joke. She wondered if any of them could actually see what was going on here. 

How long had these feelings been fostering, she wondered. The two boys had always been close, and now that Obito returned to their lives it was like they had gone back to where they left off. Could it be possible that they had liked each other even in the past? They would have at least told her if they had feelings for someone else, they were never shy about admitting who was cute or not, but the idea that they had been growing together in another way wasn’t entirely unreasonable. 

The weird thing was while Obito never claimed to be anything other than bisexual since the moment he came back to Kasai, she had never seen Kakashi date anyone other than females. She could have written off his avoidance of the topic as simple embarrassment, but then again he wasn’t laughing this off like he normally would. He was being quiet. And Obito, rather than join in the fun and pick on his friend, had openly stated to change the subject. 

They remained in the shop a few more minutes before it was time for them to split up. Sasori still had errands to run, Rin had to get Kurenai some yogurt, and the others were either going to entertain themselves with school, games or going to work. By this point, the two boys had returned to normal and were talking again, but their reactions were still clear in her mind. 

Rin took her time making Kurenai’s yogurt, making sure to get everything that she wanted in it. As she got to the register, she made sure that Fūka was nowhere within earshot before speaking her mind to her friend. “Hey, Konan, do you think those two really like each other?”

“Obito and Kakashi?” Konan clarified. “I can’t say much for Kakashi since I’ve never seen him around someone he likes before, but Obito has an interest in the idea for sure. Thing is, I can’t tell if it’s a passing interest or he actually feels something.”

“He’s never acted that way towards another person before?”

“This may come as a shock, or maybe not considering how close we are, but I used to date Obito as well. He generally becomes very protective of the person he’s dating and will openly make public displays of affection. Yet, as we just witnessed a few moments ago, he’s trying to drop any idea of a relationship with Kakashi that’s anything other than friendship. He’s never done that before.”

Rin hummed to herself, pulling out her credit card and handing it over. “Maybe he doesn’t like Kakashi after all.”

Konan shook her head. “I wouldn’t say that. If he doesn’t like someone, he makes it really obvious. He’s turned down people in the past, and I mean a lot of people so it's not hard to see when he's uninterested. But with Kakashi it’s like he’s trying to avoid the topic all together. I would take that as he hasn’t quite figured out where he stands on the subject.”

“Well that’s just stupid.” Rin’s lips tightened together in frustration. “Why can’t he just figure it out then? It’s not that hard.”

Konan couldn’t agree more under normal circumstances, but, “They have a mixed past, right? I wonder if that’s what stopping Obito.”

“But Obito doesn’t remember anything.”

“My point exactly.” When Rin became increasingly confused, Konan continued, “Obito’s uncle brought him to Chikyū so he wouldn’t remember the car wreck he was in, right? At least that’s what Itachi’s told us. Maybe Obito doesn’t want to remember it either and he’s worried that if he gets any closer to Kakashi, those memories might come flooding back. Or maybe they had some sort of fight before he lost his memories. I mean, anything is possible and I’m sure that’s plenty of reason to be hesitant.”

“I seriously doubt they had a fight that heavily impacted their friendship.” Rin sighed, “But I guess that kind of makes sense. Maybe we _should_ just lock them in a closet.”

“So long as it’s not mine, I’m in.” Konan laughed. “I’ve tried to play matchmaker for Obito in the past and it didn’t last long. He’d expect it coming from me, but maybe you can push those two together and see what happens.”

“Kisame’s, Kakuzu’s, or Asuma’s house is pretty large right? Let’s just lock them in one and leave for a few hours but set up cameras.”

“Nagato might fall in love with you if you suggest that. He’s all about getting dirt on people.”

“Should I ask Kurenai about this as well?”

“Sure, and tell her to think up a code name too. If we plan something fast enough, we might be able to do it at the Christmas party.”

“We could set up a large scavenger hunt!”

The girls laughed together like a plotting strategists they were. “I knew we were friends for a reason, Rin. And actually, Kakuzu usually does that every year for us anyway.”

“They might kill us.”

“Worth it. Give Kurenai my best, I’ve got a co-worker to pester.”

 

“I swear to all that is holy in this world, if you throw another blue shell at me we aren’t friends anymore.” Konan leaned forward from the couch furiously rotating her controller like it actually helped the vehicle in the video game turn as well. 

Kakashi looked up from his book towards the screen that had been split between her and Itachi. For a while Konan had been leading, but thanks to a throw from Itachi she had been knocked back to fourth place. Itachi had then intercepted second place with a dark smile on his face, leaning just as eagerly as her. 

“Shouldn’t you be teaming up against the computers?” Kakashi suggested. He remembered on early versions of the game that he and Obito had played years ago, they had teamed up to ensure they could make high scores. One would remain in second place, taking the hits for first place. 

With these two it was the exact opposite. They were intent on causing as much destruction for the other person as they possibly could. He had been watching them go at each other for the past hour and a half, trying to get through all of the tournaments the game had to offer. At first they tried to beat Obito’s scores, but eventually decided that a personal competition was more entertaining. Kakashi had come along for the ride in attempt to avoid his homework. 

He would have been lying if he said that he hadn’t been hoping Obito was home. Instead he came over to find that Obito had been at work, but luckily would be home soon. He hadn’t been scheduled the night shift since Tsunade had felt he had been taking on too much and needed sleep. She was probably the best boss Obito could have hoped for, but that also might have been because she was a doctor. Even if Obito lied to her, she would be able to see how he was doing physically. 

Konan’s character fell off the edge of the map and she made a sound of extreme frustration. “I _would_ if this pink Yoshi didn’t attract every bomb in the game that _somebody_ dropped.”

“That was the last level.” Itachi assured her. “This time I’m using bananas.”

“Who just shrunk us?!”

“Bowser, I think. He just flew by me.”

Kakashi glanced at the screen just as she picked up a mystery box and shot a green shell at the back of another character to steal back first place. For the one of their group who did not often play video games, she was doing a great job at picking it up quickly. Then again, Mario Cart wasn’t incredibly hard to pick up on unless you were playing against people who enjoyed doing speed runs. In other words, people like Obito.

A heartbeat later, the two of them were neck and neck for taking first place again with computer Mario at their heels. It was a shame they didn’t set the AI difficulty to at least normal, it would have made their game much more entertaining for Kakashi to watch. Just as Itachi would have passed Konan, she let loose her last green shell and roared in victory. She jumped from the chair, pumping her fists and the Wii controller into the air and Itachi watched his character be passed by at least three others before he got past the line. 

“There’s still the final track.” Itachi said, kick starting the next race without waiting for Konan. Her butt hit the seat so fast Kakashi felt himself bounce in response.

They just started their trek on Rainbow Road when the front door to the apartment opened. Kakashi lowered his book, expecting to see Obito, but was slightly surprised to see a miniature version of Itachi running in and jumping onto the back of the couch.

“Hey, big brother!” the child wrapped his arms around Itachi and successfully distracting him.

“Sasuke?” Itachi was trying his best to give his attention to his brother while not letting Konan win. “What are you doing here?”

Obito finally entered, placing a basket on the island. “I stopped by Aunt Mikoto’s place on my way home to pick this up and that rugrat decided to attach itself to me.” 

He reached into the basket and pulled out two bottles then proceeded to make his way to the living room. Nudging Konan out of the way, he climbed over the back and placed himself in the middle between her and Kakashi before handing the latter a bottle. “Half of that basket is yours. My aunt says congrats on winning the Future Scholars Competition.”

Kakashi accepted the bottle and looked at the cover. He had suspected it to be alcohol before remembering that Obito didn’t drink it. “Peanut butter and jelly Jones Soda?” What the heck sort of soda was that?

Obito held up his own which was a stark contrast to Kakashi’s dark colored one. “Mine’s birthday cake. I figured you’d like that one better since you don’t like sweets.”

“Where did she get these?”

Sasuke, who was pulling a chair from the dining room, answered, “World Market. Mom loves shopping there and we get discounts if Izumi is working there.”

“Who’s Izumi?”

“Itachi’s girlfriend.” Obito and Sasuke answered together.

Itachi frowned slightly although pink dusted his cheeks. “Childhood friend.” He corrected. 

Obito passed Kakashi a look that said ‘yeah, right’ but let he topic drop. It was in that moment Kakashi realized Obito had a Band-Aid on his cheek that was covering a growing bruise. Without thinking he reached out and lightly touched it.

Obito flinched away but more out of surprise than pain. “Don’t worry about it.” 

“What happened?”

“I heard him tell mom that he got into a fight.” Sasuke said, grinning as if he was revealing some great secret. A heartbeat later a pillow smacked into his face.

“I told you don’t worry about it.” Obito took another sip of his drink.

Knowing that he got into a fight only made them more curious. Konan even turned his way, her distraction causing her character to veer off the side of the road. “What were you fighting about this time? Drunk customer?”

“Someone probably told him his drinks tasted like shit again.” Itachi offered.

Sasuke shook his head. “Something about being annoying I think.”

“Since when does Obito hit someone for being annoying?”

“He smacks Hidan a lot.” Kakashi remembered just the other night the two of them got into another wrestling match over which Hogwarts house was better. Hidan had amazingly put up a good fight, but he wasn't fast enough to counter some of Obito's moves. 

“Yeah that’s true. So who pissed you off, Obito?”

Obito fell back against the couch and sighed, realizing quickly this was going to be a losing battle. “This is your fault.” He finally said, giving a pointed look towards Kakashi.

“For pointing out you have a nicely growing bruise?” Kakashi asked. 

“No, for claiming you were my boyfriend the other day. Do you realize exactly how many people came up to me today asking if you and I were really dating or if you were gay? I didn’t even know what to tell them because, I mean, shit I don’t even know.”

That was a great question because Kakashi wasn’t entirely sure himself. He never felt any romantic feelings towards another man other than Obito, but he had girlfriends in the past. He wasn’t sure if that actually constituted him as bisexual or not.

Obito continued, “As for my new accessory, it turns out the guy I assaulted at Konan’s work is actually friends with that Zabuza guy who came in when we first met at the bar. They figured a good way to get back at me was wait until I got off work since they’re banned from entering. Admittedly it worked since they managed to have the upper hand for a minute.”

Konan paused the game and now looked very serious. “You got jumped?”

“You forget I actually know how to use my muscles to defend myself.” He patted her arm reassuringly. “Anyways, Bee’s got a bigger bruise than me and Miss Tsunade took him to the hospital to check for signs of a concussion. Sasuke, don’t mention this to your mother. I told her that it was only one guy so she wouldn’t freak out on me.” He then turned his attention to the other side of him. “See the trouble you caused me, Kakashi? I want to break up.”

“ _I’m_ too much trouble?” he responded, quirking an eyebrow up. He felt bad that he was causing problems for Obito, but at the same time the man seemed completely capable of handling it. “Who’s the one who can’t stop getting in fights? You’ve been in like five since you came back to Kasai.”

Sasuke leaned forward in his chair. “You two are dating?”

“No.” Obito answered quickly, suddenly finding anything that wasn’t Kakashi a more interesting topic. 

Although it was the truth, Kakashi still found himself a little downcast. He still had no idea how he was going to go about changing that answer; maybe dropping subtle hints might help. Obito couldn't be that dense. “Apparently not, I guess he wants to break up with me.”

Sasuke observed those in the room, clearly not catching on to the joke that was being said. Konan was grinning openly while Itachi was face palming. Hard. “Obito, do you like guys?”

“God _damnit_ , Kakashi.” Obito groaned. 

Kakashi was baffled. “What?”

Konan was now laughing, easing herself back into her seat from where she had been on the edge after learning of Obito’s confrontation. “Looks like you’ll have to keep something else from your mom, kid.”

“Wait, she doesn’t already know?” Kakashi now realized what a mistake he had made. “I didn’t think you were being so secretive about it.”

“I knew it. You two are dating.” Sasuke said matter of factly.

This time it was Itachi’s turn to interject. Taking the pillow that had been discarded to the floor after Obito threw it, he reapplied it to his brothers face. “They aren’t dating, Sasuke.”

“But,” Sasuke removed the pillow. “Obito is gay, right?”

Obito glared at Kakashi. “Now we really are breaking up.”

Kakashi wasn’t sure whether he should be laughing or apologizing and ended up doing both. His not-boyfriend didn’t take kindly to this. 

“You know what, I hate all of you.” Obito stood up. “Came to have a good time and honestly I’m feeling so attacked right now. Can’t go to work or be at home without someone messing with me. You all can stay here and suck at your video games and what not, I’m going to go read a book or bake a cake or cure cancer.”

As he made to move around them towards his room, Konan grabbed him and forced him to sit back down. At first he went along with it, allowing his roommate to man handle him into staying in their company. It was clear he didn’t have any intention of leaving them. But in mid fall she reversed her grip to shove him into Kakashi, surprising them both and causing Kakashi to try and catch him last minute. It all resorted in Obito landing ungracefully in Kakashi’s lap, gripping onto the back of the couch while Kakashi’s arm kept him from falling backwards off the armrest. 

Konan grinned mischievously at her handiwork. “Why don’t you have Kakashi read to you, Obito? He was holding a very interesting book while we were playing earlier. What was it called again?”

“Icha Icha Tactics, I believe.” Itachi answered. 

Sasuke jumped on the bandwagon and picked up a green covered novel from beside the couch. “This one?”

Itachi’s face blanched. “Don’t open it.”

Ignoring him, Sasuke flipped to a random page and inspected the contents. Sure enough he had read exactly what the book was about and nearly dropped it on the table. “Why are you reading that around other people!?”

But Kakashi was only half paying attention to them. The other half was witnessing Obito’s flushed features as he struggled to come up with something to say. It was like his mind had completely blanked as he kept his eyes trained ahead, intentionally trying to not turn to Kakashi. As if that would help him since he was sitting on Kakashi’s lap. 

“I think we broke them.” Itachi actually had the nerve to laugh at them. 

Obito blinked, almost turned to Kakashi but stopped himself. He nearly jumped again when Sasuke tossed the book to land on his lap, which only succeeded in causing both individuals to become more embarrassed. 

Konan leaned towards her enablers. “It’s a bit of a heavy read, if you know what I mean.”

“Stop it.” Obito finally said with absolutely no bite to it. “Not funny.” Compared to before, his voice was now much quieter. 

“I’m sure your boyfriend doesn’t mind, right?” Sasuke asked, casually leaning towards his brother as if to inspect the two of them from a new angle. It was like he was viewing Obito in a new light, as though Obito had suddenly become a much more interesting family member. 

He knew that Obito was mentally freaking out about this, he had seen it multiple times in the past when they were kids, but Kakashi couldn’t help but thoroughly enjoy himself. It wasn’t every day that the person you liked was literally thrust into your arms and rendered basically speechless. Taking full advantage, Kakashi set his drink on the table next to him, wrapped his other arm around Obito’s waist, and lifted the book from his lap. “Of course not.” He pulled Obito closer so that his head rested on the other man’s shoulder. “Which chapter would you like to start on, babe? I’m particularly fond of chapter five, but the beginning is just as exciting.”

It lasted just a moment, but it felt like much longer. Obito tilted his head just enough, their faces hardly inches apart, with such a heated look that it stole Kakashi’s breath momentarily. For a full heartbeat while their eyes locked, Kakashi thought Obito would kiss him again, that he would close what little gap there was between them, but he didn’t. Obito's gaze spoke everything in his head that Kakashi couldn’t hear, before lowering slightly down his face. He had to be thinking the same thing that Kakashi was, but was amazingly holding himself back.

Right when Kakashi was about to act first, Obito pulled himself up and jumped over the back of the couch in a similar fashion to his entrance. The absence of a body left Kakashi feeling colder than he thought normal. Muttering something about a forgotten test, Obito quickly excused himself to his bedroom and shut the door behind him. 

“So…” Sasuke drew out the word, “Are you two dating or not?

Slowly, Kakashi shook his head. Damn it all, he had been so close. But Obito’s actions surely meant that he felt at least something for him in return. Why wasn’t he acting on it then? What was stopping him? Obito could confess his feelings for Kakashi back in grade school, but adult Obito couldn’t so much as say a word?

“It was a joke to mess with someone else a few days ago.” Kakashi explained to Itachi’s younger brother. 

Sasuke could have easily spoken everything that his expression did, that he didn’t think that anything that had just happened was a joke, but wisely kept quiet this time. Instead, he gave his attention to his older brother by asking to join in the game they were playing.

Kakashi returned his drink in hand, replacing the book in its place. “Itachi, do your parents hold the same moral views on dating as Obito’s parents?”

The older Uchiha handed the game controller to his kid brother before fetching a new one for himself. “Yeah, they’re completely against same sex couples. A lot of people in our family tree are. I think the only people who are okay with the entire idea are our Uncle Madara and Obito’s grandmother.”

Sasuke made a face. “I thought Uncle Madara was against it too.”

“He makes it seem that way around our family to respect their wishes, but he personally doesn’t care. The only reason he was so hard on Obito when he was younger was apparently because Obito kept bringing sketchy people around like Zetsu. Of course, this was still back when Zetsu was going through his darker phase.”

Konan brought up the menu, trying to set up a new track that would give her the advantage while she thought Itachi was distracted. “They only dated like a month so I don’t think it really counts.”

“Fair.” Itachi agreed.

Kakashi was beginning to wonder how many of their friends Obito had dated now. 

 

Obito sat at his desk, his forehead planted firmly against the top and hands gripping the chair like it was the only solid thing in the room. He was decisively keeping his mind planted on one thing: chemistry. He began running through formulas, tomorrows class preparations, how much he hated group projects, or literally anything would get his mind away from the silver haired man in the other room.

His chest hurt where his heart had pounded so hard against it, and it felt like he had just run a marathon. If he didn’t keep himself grounded, he was afraid he might actually go back in there and do what he had just barely managed to stop himself from doing. 

Damn Kakashi. Damn him and the fact that he was exactly Obito’s type. Damn him and his questionable sexuality and confusing actions. One minute he was an emotionally guarded friend, looking out for their group in a big brother manner or allowing himself to fade into the background so another could take the spotlight. The next he was sending mixed messages Obito’s way, causing his mind to fill with all sorts of inappropriate things that someone shouldn’t think about since they were only friends. Damn him!

No wait, he was thinking about chemistry. The proper way to make fools gold. The periodic table. The importance of safety equipment. 

Obito lifted his head and let it fall back against the desk, making himself focus on that and not the way his body was reacting. Having Kakashi lean against his back, putting his arms around him, was much more emotionally invigorating than it had been when Konan did it before their beach trip. Even more so when Kakashi went along with the idea that they were an intimate couple; feeling his breath on the back of his neck had sent chills down Obito's spine and he wasn't sure if Kakashi had felt that or not. Since when did Kakashi act that way anyways? 

“Stop it.” He told himself for the second time that night. What was he going to do?

Water. That’s what.

Rising up, he made his way into the bathroom and turned on the sink, promptly placing his head beneath it. He laid his arms across the edge and leaned against it, allowing the cool water to fight the heat that his body was threatening to consume him with. This was the only alternative he had aside from jumping in the shower, but he could easily imagine the jokes that would ensue if the others heard that. He shouldn't be reacting like this; it wasn't the first time he had made dating jokes between himself and his other friends. Was it just because he had never done so with Kakashi yet? That had to be it. It was just new, and unexpected considering who it was with. 

And freaking Sasuke. The little punk just had to keep initiating things, didn’t he? This could all easily be blamed on him, but Obito was the first one to make the dating joke. He shouldn’t have done that, at least in front of Konan. He knew how she couldn’t resist playing matchmaker and making him squirm. Why did he choose to be her roommate again? Oh yeah, because he foolishly thought she would be easier to live with than Deidara. 

This was so, so much worse. Well, it wouldn’t have been if he had never met Kakashi. He knew he should have applied to Kiri instead.

“Obito?”

He jumped, not having heard the footsteps entering his room due to the running water, and smacked his head on the faucet. That was one way to get his mind of things. Speaking of things…

“Yes?” Obito asked, slowly moving his head from the sink to avoid causing any more pain and ruffled his hair, sending drops everywhere. 

Kakashi took a cautious step back, a smirk playing on his lips. “I’m having a sense of déjà vu here.”

Obito frowned, confused, until he remembered he had done the same thing at the bar when he first met Kakashi. “Shut up.” He fired back, grabbing his towel and throwing it over his head. The last thing he needed was for anyone to witness his embarrassment for the second time that night. “Did you need something?”

Kakashi leaned against the doorframe, either intentionally or unintentionally trapping Obito in the bathroom. “We’re ordering a pizza for dinner. Anything specific that you want?”

“I’m not picky.”

“Just so long as it doesn’t have pineapple, right?”

Moments like these either proved one of three things: one, that Kakashi was a stalker. Two, that he was a good guesser. Or three, he remembered things from their shared childhood that were unusual. Either way, Obito decided to accept them rather than consistently question Kakashi about it. “Right.” He agreed, mentally forming a plan to get around him. Maybe if he walked really fast…he could dive for the office chair. Duck and roll?

Kakashi seemed to catch on the focused look and relocated from the doorway to the wall on the other side. Obito happily took the chance even though he had to pass by the now amused other. 

“You could have asked.” 

Or he could have stopped acting like a child, but Obito was far passed that now. He returned to his seat, although much more relaxed in comparison to before, and rested his head on his arms as the towel draped over him. 

Kakashi refused to let the silence last. “Obito?”

Did he expect Obito have up and vanished within his own bedroom? “Yes?”

“Are you going to join the rest of us out there again?”

That highly depended on if Konan was going to do something stupid again. Or Obito. Between the two of them, something was bound to happen. Maybe if he avoids her long enough, her attention will shift to Sasuke instead. The brat deserved to have many jokes made about him and Obito wished that Konan or Itachi beat him in every race.

He sighed. “I don’t know.” He could easily sneak out later and steal pizza, but he would get hounded if caught. His choice in friends sucked. Next time Zetsu offered to be his roommate, he would jump on the chance. At least that way, Zetsu would stick to his room and Obito to his or the living room, and they would hardly get in each other’s way.  
With any luck, his body might evolve and he could develop the ability for photosynthesis so he would never have to communicate with people ever again. 

Just then the towel was lifted from his head, pulled to rest at his shoulders. “Obito?”

Nope. He wasn’t going to look up. He was going to stare at all the little dust particles coating the parts of his desk he didn’t sweep off. “Yes?”

“Why did you lie about coming in here to study for a test?”

Because it had been the first thing he could think of to get the heck out of there. Still, “How do you know that I did?”

“Your test was last week.”

Right, he forgot he had told Kakashi that. It was the reason they didn’t hang out one night since he had to study. “Double test.” He lied stupidly, hoping that Kakashi would accept it for what it was. Honestly his mind was still up in the clouds, and Kakashi being right behind him wasn’t helping. But no sooner had the thought crossed his mind did he hear Kakashi move away from him. He lifted his gaze finally to see Kakashi heading towards the door, his normal blank expression back on his face making it impossible for Obito to tell what he was thinking. 

“Kakashi?”

He paused with his hands around the door handle then turned Obito’s way. “Yes?”

Obito couldn’t recall why he had stopped him. He was sure there was something in his head, but at the moment it wasn’t coming up anymore. His mind defaulted. “What is your preference in dating?” Shit, why did he ask that? That was not what he meant to default to.

Somehow, Kakashi didn’t seem shocked at the question although he did take a moment to answer. It was like he wasn’t even sure himself, obvious in the fact that he had to sit and think about it. 

“I don’t think I’m really partial to any type of person.” Kakashi said at last with a shrug. “Whoever appeals to me I guess.”

The term pansexual crossed Obito’s mind but he mentally waved it away. There were so many terms now that he couldn’t be sure if that was the correct one or not. But this didn’t answer any of Obito’s mental questions! How was he supposed to answer people at the bar now?

“You’re making my life difficult.” Obito decided, pulling the towel from his shoulders and replacing it to his head, not enough to cover his face again. “I’ll just tell people at work that you’re attracted to street signs or something.”

“Tell them I’m into railroad stoplights. I’m all about things being flashy.”

Yeah, like flashy was his style. Still, Obito found himself grinning regardless.


	9. Partners in Crime

“Oh my God.” Rin gasped as the car pulled into an extravagant driveway. “He lives here alone?”

Konan grinned at her friend’s awe. Naturally it was surprising that a man would live in a house worth over $500,000 by himself, but that was the Kakuzu they all knew. “He comes from an exceptionally wealthy family.” Konan explained. “When they visit each other it’s generally in hoards. Makes you wonder why he complained so much when we all decided to stay with him for a while.”

“They need to adopt me.” Rin sighed, practically smooshing her face against the glass to look up. 

“They wouldn’t give you anything.” Konan informed her, pulling into a spot in the driveway and setting it in park. “Everything Kakuzu owns he bought himself. The only thing his family provided was connections and he earned the rest of it himself.”

“He’s got to be some sort of underground broker.” Rin decided. “He’s hardly older than us.”

True, but Kakuzu was a genius. Rin and the others didn’t get to see as much of him as those from Chikyū had, so she had no idea just how easily things came to him. His IQ was off the charts and companies had been hounding after him by the time he was a Sophomore in college. 

As they made their way up the sidewalk towards the house, the front door opened to reveal their host. Dressed in nice jeans and a dress shirt, he politely held the door open for them. 

“Should we take our shoes off?” Rin offered, gazing around the house as they entered. She had though Kisame’s house was clean, but Kakuzu’s was much more fancy and exuberant. How much had all of this costs him? Fancy picture frames, furniture that had to have been ordered special; all this place was missing was a giant family portrait hanging over the fire place and a butler. 

Kakuzu gave a slight shrug. “If you want, but I’ve hired a maid for tomorrow with the full expectation that this place will be a mess by the end of the night.”

A maid? Seriously? Rin would have gladly been paid to come clean this place. There had to be a secret room in this house and she was determined to find it before the end of the night. 

“No outdoor Christmas decorations?” Konan teased, tossing her shoes to the side and hanging her jacket on a nearby rack. "I find your lack of festivities disturbing."

Their host frowned at her much like a parent would. “Who do you think I am? Krampus?” 

“Krampus?” Rin asked.

“German version of evil Santa.” He explained. “And I didn’t decorate the outside because I ran out of time while decorating the rest of the house. Go look in the living room.”

Obediently, Konan led the way into the rest of the house where it opened up considerably into an open floor plan. Every inch of the living had been decorated festively including the tree, wreaths, presents, letters from family, and the plates on the table. Kakuzu might as well have bought the local Christmas store and put it in his house. Rin’s eyes grew wide in a way that hadn’t happened since she was a child. There was even a box on the table to set up ginger bread houses, most likely an activity for later. “Your place is amazing.”

Kakuzu flopped down on the nearest sofa and picked up a book he must have been reading when they pulled up. “Thanks.”

“Have you made cookies yet?” Konan asked, roaming the kitchen. “It smells like cookies in here.”

“Candle on the table.” Kakuzu flipped the page. “I don’t bake.”

“Then why do you have such a large stove?”

“Came with the house. You’re welcome to utilize it; there’s plenty of things in the cabinet to use.”

Rin moved to follow her companion into the kitchen but remembered the secret Santa presents she and Konan had brought and redirected towards the tree. “Are these presents from your family?” 

“No, those are for you guys.” Kakuzu looked up from his book. “I don’t partake in secret Santa, so I do this instead.”

“For everyone? You didn’t have to do that. We’re using your house after all.”

“Don’t tell him that!” Konan called from the kitchen. “This is the one time of year he’s actually giving!”

Kakuzu’s frown didn’t change, but his eyes softened a degree and he made a small grunt. “Consider it a belated birthday gift if it makes you feel better. Makes no difference to me.”

Arguing would have been pointless, and Rin wasn't sure she wanted to anyway. If he could afford such a house on his own, he could easily afford simple things for the rest of them. Part of her couldn’t help but be a little jealous of that, but the other half was grateful for having such a friend. He hadn’t let wealth change him, and Obito’s stories of being helped out by Kakuzu was proof of that. Still, she was definitely going to have to make him a nice home cooked meal in the future. 

“What made you go to Iwa if you could afford a bigger school?” Rin asked curiously. 

Kakuzu lowered the novel and gestured towards the bookshelf. Rin followed it to a picture frame where upon closer inspection she saw a large family standing outside an even larger house than the one they were currently in. 

“My family went to those schools.” Kakuzu explained, his voice giving away no hint of either praise or resentment. “I decided not to follow tradition and made a bet with my father that I could do just as well as my siblings by going to a different college. He’s now paying off that bet over the course of a year.” Finally, a smile broke his face. “Actually, you can thank him for your Christmas gifts.”

Rin gave a nervous laugh. “I’m a little afraid to ask how much he owes you.”

“Five thousand.”

That would have been enough to pay for a lot of her college funds and Kakuzu’s family was using it like loose change. How rich were they?!

“Rin, come here! We’ve got planning to do!”

“Planning?” Kakuzu looked between then skeptically. “Do I want to know?”

“We might get hated for this.” Konan laughed, showing up in the room again. “It involves two people and-.”

“Not interested.” Kakuzu returned the book to his face. 

The girls laughed and made their way into the kitchen once more. Konan had already set out the proper materials for making cookies and was currently looking up recipes on her phone. Rin pulled up a chair from beneath the island and accepted any of the stirring work that Konan handed her. “You think they’ll really hate us?”

“I don’t think Kakashi would, but Obito might hold a grudge.”

“Really?” Kakuzu’s voice came from the other room. “You’re trying to stick them together _again_?”

“Again?”

Konan waved the accusation away. “I threw Obito at Kakashi a few nights ago and Obito ran away. Though it did have the desired effect.”

“What happened?”

“Well, Kakashi seemed completely for it but Obito became all flustered and managed to escape to his room. He said something about homework, but he came out again a few hours later and was doing his best to pretend like nothing happened. He refused to sit next to Kakashi again, though, so I couldn’t try again.”

Rin chuckled to herself, greatly wishing she had been there to witness it. A week or so ago the two of them had decided to try and push the two boys together until either they were dating or made it painfully obvious that they weren’t. The way Obito and Kakashi were acting had been killing the rest of them - at least those who noticed what was going on. It was like two school kids trying not to make it obvious that they had a crush on each other. 

The plan was as follows: they were all getting together today to celebrate an early Christmas with each other. Kurenai would be joining them within the next thirty minutes and the three of them were going to bake. Everyone else was going to show up later after work or class and take part in any activity that Kakuzu had ready for them. But there was also a hidden plan. According to Konan, Kakuzu had always set up a scavenger hunt to find his Elf on the Shelf and whoever found it got the two hundred dollars attached to its back. During this time, they were going to be working in partners and Konan was going to ensure that whoever Kakashi and Obito were partnered with were in on the plan. They had already talked with everyone else who knew their ideas to figure out teams, some genuinely curious as to what would happen and others more interested in finding the money, and in the process of the search they were going to trap the two of them.

Kakuzu refused to be part of the plans because he wanted no reason for anyone to throw a fit at him. He was much happier with being the bystander and watching rather than taking part. 

“How long should we keep them together?” Konan asked, searching the cabinets for the measuring cups. 

“I think that depends on where we can hide the key.” Rin flipped through a few more recipe ideas. “What are the odds that Obito knows how to remove handcuffs with his uncle being a cop?”

Konan thought about that minute. “I know he’s never been arrested, so his experience with handcuffs are a bit limited. Unless he’s done something behind closed doors.”

“I don't want that mental image, Konan.”

She smiled and shrugged. “Don’t knock it till you try it, Rin. Just ask Kakuzu. We found out during a drinking game once that he’s got some weird kinks.”

They both turned to see him glaring at them from the other room. “They’re not weird.”

“You like tying people up, Kakuzu, that’s a little weird.”

“No one I’ve been with has ever complained.”

“Okay!” Rin slapped her hands together. “Let’s get back to the subject, shall we? Where to hide a key?”

Kakuzu’s eyes wandered the room, apparently also trying to think of an answer despite earlier claiming that he wanted no part, but then stood up and headed towards the front door. A moment later, Kurenai entered bringing in a Christmas present as well and a basket of foods. She set the basket next to Rin then turned back to the host. “Asuma’s bringing the chicken and roast a little later. It’s still cooking at home.”

Kakuzu nodded. “Speaking of, Obito called a little before you guys showed up. He’ll be showing up an hour sooner since a class canceled. I suggest whatever plans you’re making; you figure them out fast.”

“Okay, ladies,” Konan said quickly. “We need to finish up our plans before making cookies. We can’t search the house yet or Kakuzu will kill us since that’ll ruin his scavenger hunt, so find a place either in here or the living room to hide handcuff keys.”

Kurenai laughed as they branched out like Carlie’s Angels. “Have you guys considered the possibility they just might kill us for this?”

“Don’t get blood on my carpet.” Was all Kakuzu offered, taking up his seat once more. 

 

Something was wrong. They were definitely plotting something and it wasn’t going to be good. There was no way he could have run out of icing that fast. 

“Deidara, you fatass, stop eating the icing or we can’t finish the house.” Sasori said, confirming Obito’s suspicions. 

Deidara wistfully set the container of icing back down, licking his fingers and staring longingly. “But the icing is the best part.”

Obito wiped some of the rooftop drips onto his finger and smeared it across Deidara’s nose. “Boop.”

“No, Tobi, that’s such a waste!” Hidan scolded him. He grabbed one of the small chocolate pieces and placed it on the icing. “There, now he looks like Rudolf.”

“Want to borrow my antlers?” Obito offered. 

Kurenai turned their way from where she sat across the table. “You trying to get rid of my antlers already? Would you prefer the tiara instead?”

“Nope.” Obito answered quickly. “Antlers are great. Love them. Make me feel like Dancer and Prancer and all those other reindeer.” He pointed over his shoulder. “Plus, I think Kisame’s enjoying it more.”

Only hearing his name but understanding the context, Kisame flipped him off from across the room where he was rocking a tiara that was bedazzled on every inch of its surface. Kurenai had deemed it worthy that whoever was being the least festive had to wear it and all its fluffy pinkness and everyone else was completely okay with it so long as it wasn’t them. Kisame just managed to piss her off first by denying any cookies she had made.

Thank God his friends had a sense of humor or this could have ended very poorly. 

Obito finished tossing sprinkles onto the roof of his cottage and placed it carefully in the tray at the center of the table. Though not as pretty as others, he was still super proud of it. 

“It looks like a five-year-old made that.” Deidara observed, poking Obito’s gingerbread house. 

It collapsed instantly to both their horror. 

“You absolute monster!” Obito gasped at him. “How dare you destroy the home of my gingerbread man?”

“It was a shitty house anyway. He can move in with mine.” 

“Which one is yours?”

“That one. No, Obito, wait-.”

Too late, the Uchiha had already reached over and crushed it. “How’s it feel, you jerk? Now yours is homeless too.”

“My gingerbread house!”

“Okay, children, time out.” Kurenai walked up behind them and pulled their chairs away from the table.

Fearing the power she had over the tiara, Obito leapt from the chair and ran into the living room. Deidara tried to follow him, but Kurenai kept her grip on him and forced him over to Kisame where she switched their hats. Obito peeked over the back of the couch, just having landed on the other side and ducked behind it. He might actually die if he had to wear that. He sighed and sunk his shoulder into the backrest, easing from the view of Kurenai. 

“Comfortable?”

He realized only right then that he had landed between Kakashi and Asuma, both of which were giving him amused looks. He sat up straight then, casually blending in with the rest of them. “What are you guys talking about in here?”

“Which movie to watch later.” Asuma answered, tapping the pile of Christmas movies next to him. “We’ve got Jim Carrey’s Grinch, It’s a Wonderful Life, Elf, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, The Santa Clause, and The Year Without a Santa Claus.”

“Which one is winning?”

Asuma lifted the one with the green version of Jim Carrey. 

Obito pouted slightly. He must be the only one to find Jim Carry not all that funny. He saw where the humor was, but anyone could act like a lunatic if they wanted to. Obito was more about those one-liner comedians. “National Lampoon has my vote.” He decided, remembering the first scene with a grin. He then caught sight of Kurenai heading his way and jumped the couch again in a desperate attempt to escape. 

Kakashi couldn’t help but imagine a dust trail behind him. Ever since everyone had gotten here, Obito hadn’t sat still for very long. He had been hopping from one activity to the other, ensuring that he did something with everyone. Obito hadn’t been this active since Kakashi’s birthday party where he had been running around and ensuring that everyone was enjoying themselves. Basically he was playing host again while Kakuzu merely enjoyed casual conversation. 

A minute later, Obito was jumping the couch again with a handful of cookies wrapped up in a napkin. Asuma reached for one, causing Obito to lean towards Kakashi with an air of appall. “Get your own.”

Kakashi took the opportunity to steal one instead, turning the wide-eyed look to him instead. Just when Obito's eyes were off Asuma, the other man stole one too.

“Guys, the kitchen is right over there.” Obito complained, slipping from the couch onto the floor and hovering over what was left of his goodies. 

Taking a bite into the tree shaped cookie, Kakashi responded, “Yeah, but this way we don’t have to get up.”

“Thanks for sharing, Obito.” Asuma added. 

Obito nibbled on the corner of his own treat, staring at them wistfully. Those two had the best hats that Kurenai had to offer, making him believe she was selecting favorites. Asuma had a Santa hat that was longer than usual, ending just a little past his shoulder, while Kakashi had the more normal sized ones. Each girl in the house had a stylized headband with a miniature hat, and the rest of them had an assortment of antlers or elf hats. All except Deidara. 

Whatever, so long as Obito wasn’t donning that pink nonsense he could withstand anything. His pride was on the line, and pink features with fake jewels wasn’t going to help his manly image at all. 

Just then the background Christmas music halted and everyone turned to see Kakuzu standing in the middle of the room holding the remote to his stereo in one hand and a holiday beer in the other. He set the control on the mantle and returned his hand to his pocket, making sure he had all the attention before announcing that it was time for the scavenger hunt. He must have gotten tired of people trying to sneak off early to find the prize, namely Hidan, and decided that now was as good as time as any. 

Before Kakashi could even begin to ask Obito if they wanted to partner up, Rin showed up and out of nowhere and stole his intended partner by extending her hand to him. One in which he happily took and rose to stand next to her. Had she already asked him before the party started?

Konan leaned over the couch towards Kakashi. “Partners?” she offered. 

Saved him the trouble of finding someone available. He smiled up at her. “Sure.”

Everyone else seemed to already have a good idea as to who they wanted to split the money with. Deidara with Sasori, Zetsu with Nagato, Itachi with Kisame, Kurenai with Hidan, and Asuma with Yamato. The latter two groups were surprising, but Asuma was quick to announce that if they split it between them, it would ultimately go towards Kurenai buying shoes. Even she admitted that was probably true. 

“Any rules this year?” Hidan asked, nudging Kurenai further back so they could be the first to go. 

“Don’t go in my closet, it’s not in there.” He gave a pointed look to Sasori who seemed to have a shiver go down his spine then continued, “And it’s not outside. You’re allowed to leave your partner if you want, but you still have to split the findings with them. Also don’t break my stuff.” He looked down at his watch. “You’ve got thirty minutes or I get to keep it. Go.”

Rin grabbed Obito’s hand and whisked him away quickly, stating she had a few ideas of where to start first. Obito had a few suggestions himself, he had nearly won last year only to get tackled by Kisame and Hidan, but allowed himself to be dragged on. Either way it was going to be fun; he didn’t usually get the opportunity to hang out with Rin a lot. The first place they tried was one of the guest rooms, looking everywhere from beneath the covers, the pillows, the shelves, and the drawers. Rin went for the closet while Obito went for the bathroom, checking every place that an elf could possibly be. A few years ago when they first started the tradition, Kakuzu had duct taped it to the bottom of the toilet seat, and the only reason Sasori had found it was because he needed to use it.

“Don’t forget to check the ceiling corners.” Obito offered casually, checking them himself. Another year Kakuzu had used white tape to cover it complete save for a single arm sticking out, so anyone could have easily missed it. Konan had found it that year because she thought it was a spider out of the corner of her eye. 

He checked everything over twice then joined Rin in the closet, checking any jacket pockets behind her while she checked shoes. Although it wasn’t Kakuzu’s personal closet, he still had a multitude of clothes that he had need to use most of the closets in the house. The guy could probably afford to wear a different outfit every day for a month or more.   
Rin pouted when nothing showed up then grabbed at Obito’s hand again. “I’m not giving up. Let’s check downstairs.”

“The basement?” Obito asked vaguely, wondering if Kakuzu would even think about putting anything down there. Most of the time it was just storage, but then again that could be said for his guest rooms as well.

She led him through the house, avoiding other teams, then opened the door to the basement. Instantly she stopped when she saw the staircase leading down into darkness. 

“You first.” She nudged him in front of her. 

Obito smirked at her. “Scared?” he teased, reaching for the light switch. He found out really quick that it wasn’t working and reached for his phone to use the flashlight on it. “Damn, my phone is in the living room.” 

“So is mine.” Rin added regretfully. “I can go get them.”

He nodded to her and began down the stairs anyway. He could go ahead and search what his eyes adjusted to. 

Going down the stairs was the easy part, but finding his way after that was difficult. There weren’t any windows to help see very far, so Obito navigated by running his hands along the wall. He nearly ran into a shelf but his foot hit it first, thankfully not hard, and he frowned. He didn’t remember Kakuzu owning a wooden shelf before, he generally kept to metal ones in places for the basement in case a flood was to occur. He ran his hands along the edge, quickly finding that it wasn’t a shelf at all. It felt like a wardrobe. Since when did Kakuzu own something like that? Was owning multiple closets not enough for him? 

Curiosity getting the better of him, Obito opened the front of the wardrobe only to be grabbed by whoever was inside.

“What the-.”

A hand slapped its way across his face, silencing him and pushing him against the wide wall of the wardrobe while the other quickly shut the door again. Thinking at first he had encountered a thief sneaking his way into his friend’s house, Obito’s initial thought was to defend himself. He had just wrapped his hand around the wrist of his assaulter when he heard a familiar voice going, “Shh!”

Obito froze, conflicted between wanting to know what the hell was going on and what he was supposed to be hearing. Most of all, he wanted to know why Kakashi was crushing him against the inside of a damn wardrobe.

He pulled the hand down. “Kakashi-.”

“Shut up!” Another hand slapped itself over Obito’s face.

A heartbeat later, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. They were hushed voices, but he was able to figure out what they were saying as soon as they got off the last step. 

“Where did they go?” Konan was whispering. 

Obito could see flashlight lights through the cracks and found himself stopping all of his struggling. If Konan was involved, he could easily guess what this was about.

The light lingered on the wardrobe for a second then moved on. “I mean; I know Obito came down here.” Rin’s voice answered. 

“Kakashi was already down here.” Konan sighed. “I think he caught on so he could have warned Obito.”

“Damn, we were so close!”

Close to what? 

“We can still pull this off, Rin. So long as they’re together that is.”

Obito felt his heart rate increasing, realizing that they could be caught very easily if either one of the girls thought to open the door. He and Kakashi could hardly get any closer than they were right now, and would be trapped easily. 

The girls wandered around the basement, trying to see if the two of them were really still down there or not, but were having no luck. Another light passed through the crack, but this time lingered. 

“Think they might be in there?” Rin asked.

Kakashi stiffed against him and they both held their breath. This was it, they were going to be caught and subject to whatever those two girls had planned. Damnit, Konan, she couldn’t embarrass Obito enough on her own so she had to get Rin to help. This was hardly fair. 

But Konan laughed. “The two of them? In that tiny space? Yeah, I doubt it. Obito would have flipped his shit if Kakashi even tried.”

Obito frowned against Kakashi’s hand, taking total offense to that. He absolutely would not have. He had more pride than that. Still, he wasn’t dumb enough to give his hiding spot away by arguing.

Rin sighed. “You’re probably right. Where do you think they went?”

“I bet the furthest place in the house from here. Let’s try the attic.”

Rin must have nodded in agreement and the two of them raced up the stairs, closing the basement door behind them and eliminating any sort of light left. The two of them remained as they were a moment longer, waiting to see if the girls were going to come back. When they were mostly sure they weren’t, Obito pulled Kakashi’s hand away again, glaring at where he assumed Kakashi’s face might be. “Care to explain?”

“Well,” Kakashi started, shuffling to try and give Obito as much room as possible. It wasn’t much, there was less than a foot between them. Worse was that they were slightly hunched over. Although Kakuzu picked a roomy bit a furniture, it still wasn’t quite large enough to fit two full grown men. “We’re in a wardrobe.”

“Oh really?” Obito gave a sarcastic snort. “I hadn’t figured that out yet, but thanks so much for clarifying that fact.”

He had a pretty good guess that Kakashi was smiling at him right now when he didn’t respond. Slightly glad he didn’t have to see that – who knows how he would have reacted in a closed space – Obito reached for the door handle only to realize to his horror that there was none. He tried to push on the door, but it had somehow become locked on the other side. “Uh.”

“What?”

“There’s no handle.”

Kakashi’s hand covered his for a moment then quickly moved away further up the door, trying what Obito already had. “That’s not good. I guess neither one of us are coming out of the closet now.”

Obito was about to make another comment about pointing out the obvious when he realized what Kakashi just did. “Did…did you…just make a fucking joke?”

The other man started laughing. Obito was aghast at him for taking the situation lightly. What a jerk! Still, despite the circumstances, Obito felt himself smiling as well. “Don’t just laugh, help me find a way out of this.”

“You’re right.” Kakashi said with another chuckle. “I’ll just go and ask Aslan for help.”

“Narnia? Really?” Obito sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. “I swear to God if we don’t get out of here, I might end up killing one of us.”

Kakashi made an amused hum. “I wonder how Kakuzu would feel about having skeletons in his closet.” He began laughing again resulting in Obito slapping him in the stomach. “No need for that.”

“You’re horrible.” Obito was glad the other man couldn’t see how amused he was. “Really terrible jokes.”

One of Kakashi’s hands reached up then, cupping the side of Obito’s face. All sorts of emotions flew through Obito he wasn’t sure which one to act on first. “Liar.” Kakashi said before he could make a decision. “You’re smiling right now.”

Actually he was flushing like a school girl right now, but Kakashi didn’t need to know that. He lightly slapped the hand away before he did something unnecessary. “Do you have your phone on you?”

Kakashi withdrew to check his pockets. “No, I think it’s in the living room next to my seat. I didn’t think I’d need it for a scavenger hunt.”

Apparently no one did. “What about your wallet?”

“Nope.”

Damn, there went his hopes of prying the lock that fell to lock the wardrobe. “Do you have anything in your pockets?”

“Lint.”

They were doomed. Calling out to anyone right now would lead the girls back downstairs. Speaking of, “Why were you hiding here in the first place?”

“Oh that.” Kakashi shifted again, but Obito couldn’t see how. Probably just trying to find a new comfortable position. “Well, I think the two of them had some idea of handcuffing us together. I saw them in Konan’s jacket pocket when she turned, and decided to make a break for it.”

“Seriously?” His roommate was reaching new heights. “Either she’s really bored and we’re her new game, or she really enjoys the thought of us together.”

“And which do you think it is?”

He hadn’t thought about where this conversation would lead and instantly regretted it. As much control as Obito thought he had over his feelings, he knew he wasn’t ready to have this conversation. Specifically, in a wardrobe. Yet it wasn’t for lack of consideration. He had been thinking about Kakashi, a lot more than he cared to admit, and was pretty sure at this point that Kakashi had feelings for him. The way he acted towards Obito was so much more different than the way he acted towards the others. To say it was a joke or playful teasing would only make a mockery of Kakashi’s attempts. 

The only problem was that Obito wasn’t sure if he wanted to act on it. Kakashi wasn’t a bad guy, in fact nearly everything about him was Obito’s type, but there were too many other factors stopping him. Things that he wasn’t ready to open up to Kakashi, or anyone for that matter, about. 

“Both.” He decided. He slid down the side wall of the wardrobe, careful of where he placed his legs to ensure that Kakashi had as much room as the space would offer. “What are the odds that Kakuzu gets upset that we broke his wardrobe?”

“Changing the subject?” Kakashi asked.

Obito steeled his decision. “Getting out was always the topic.”

Kakashi made another humming noise, though whether it was from disappointment or amusement was hard to tell. He shuffled around again, this time sinking to his knees to rest on his heels. Yet rather keep his back to the wall like Obito had done, he rested his arms over Obito’s knees and leaned against them. This. This was exactly what Obito was recognizing as an action deliberately meant for him. Granted they were in a closed space and were merely trying to get comfortable until they heard someone check the basement again, but he still couldn’t imagine Kakashi lean against someone else. Even when sitting on the couch with someone, there was always an empty chair between them. 

Kakashi rested his head on his arms, or at least that’s what it felt like. “What’s your plan then?”

Obito silently thanked whatever god was listening that Kakashi let the topic drop. If he didn’t, this could have gotten extremely weird. “I’m up for suggestions.”

“Well, to answer your earlier query, I think Kakuzu would be very upset if we broke this. I have the feeling it’s very old. Therefore, breaking the wardrobe is out of the question. Calling out to someone would most likely bring the girls back to us. Or worse, Nagato.”

Obito couldn’t help pulling a face despite knowing that Kakashi wouldn’t see. “Nagato?”

Movement told that Kakashi was nodding. “He’s been looking for the perfect opportunity to blackmail you since you sent me his childhood photo.”

Given their relationship, Obito should have expected that from him. They had an endless battle of trying to one-up each other that had lasted since their high school years. “Never thought to tell me before now?”

“I was curious to see if he could find anything.”

“Wow, alright.”

“Don’t pout. He never succeeded anyway.”

Nagato wasn’t willing to go as far as Obito did anyway. That would mean he would have to contact Madara for possible embarrassing moments, and no one would talk to that guy willingly. 

Obito crossed his arms. “I’m not pouting. He’s got to try really hard to get on my level.”

“You mentioned that you had dirt on everyone before didn’t you? What have you found for me?”

“It _was_ going to be those books that you read, but then I realized that you weren’t being secretive about them at all.”

Kakashi’s laugh slightly shook them both, and Obito grinned in response. He was becoming increasingly aware that Kakashi had an adorable laugh. 

“Anything else?” Kakashi prompted. 

Honestly, Obito hadn’t really tried to find anything negative on him. He wasn’t sure digging into Kakashi’s past would become a positive or negative thing for him, and had only kept to the things he saw around him. Kakashi was just too chill a person and his only vices were too obvious to use as any form of blackmail.

“I might have something.” He answered casually. 

Kakashi gave a disbelieving “Mhm.”

“Well then, what about you?”

“Don’t include me in your childish games. I don’t need blackmail when I can sweet talk my way out of any situation.”

Now it was Obito making the disbelieving noises. “Sweet talk your way out of this one then.” 

He felt Kakashi lean more heavily on his knees and froze, unsure of how close they were now. For safe measure, he turned his face slightly away although his eyes were straight as though he might actually be able to see through the blackness. “Obito.” Kakashi’s voice was much more quiet, sending a chill down his spine. The knowledge that he couldn’t have been more than three inches away wasn’t helping that much either. “Break down the door so I’m not the one Kakuzu gets mad at.”

Obito finally laughed, the unintentional mood broken quickly by those words. He found Kakashi’s shoulder and pushed him back, about to tell him that he enjoyed living too much, when they both heard:

“Excuse me? Break what?”

The latch opened, revealing a slightly annoyed Kakuzu. He looked between the two of them, his eyebrow raising in the obvious unspoken question. Obito could only imagine how this looked, both of them too close for comfort and locked in a wardrobe.

“It’s not what you think.” Kakashi assured him before Obito could get over the shock of being found. “We were hiding from Konan and Rin.”

“In my aunt’s wardrobe.” Kakuzu sighed. He stepped back to allow them to stumble out ungracefully, trying to detach from each other. “Last I saw; they think you went to hide in my closet.”

“Serves them right.” Obito clutched at the wardrobe door for balance as he pushed himself out. Sasori had been the last person to investigate Kakuzu's closet and now swears he has mental scars because of it. 

Although they hadn’t been in stuck in the wardrobe an extremely long time, it felt amazing to be out. The air seemed cooler and his limbs were no longer screaming for space. Even Kakashi next to him was stretching. 

Kakuzu moved away, going to one of the actual shelving units a little further down and pulled off a bottle that Obito couldn’t make out. Knowing Kakuzu, it was probably an alcohol. 

“I forgot to get rum to add to the eggnog. You two are lucky I heard you.”

“Better you than anyone else.” 

Kakashi nodded his agreement. “Do you have any idea what they’re planning?”

“You haven’t figured it out yet?” Kakuzu returned to them. “Konan brought handcuffs because she thought it would be funny to watch you two struggle together for the night. The key is in my Great Expectations book, by the way.”

“Why do we need to know that? We aren’t handcuffed together.” Obito asked, but Kakashi lightly nudged him. 

“We’re not, but they could be.”

Kakuzu smiled at the notion and left without another word, refusing to be an accomplice as the two newly freed men began plotting together. 

 

Rin could not believe how quickly things had changed on her and quite frankly it was the funniest thing. Before she knew it, Obito had pulled a vanishing act on her along with Kakashi and no matter how much she and Konan looked, they were nowhere to be seen. At some point they had even resorted asking the others who were just as clueless; they were too invested on the scavenger hunt to be worried about two missing friends. Konan got the idea that they were hiding in Kakuzu’s closet and led Rin there. 

Rin found out a lot about Kakuzu in that moment. He was apparently very into many forms of BDSM and Rin was sure she was going to be scarred with the mental image that accompanied that discovery. She had left the room flustered and red faced, too oblivious to her surroundings to realize the ambush that awaited her. Without warning two strong arms were wrapped around her, one trapping her arms at her side and the other covering her mouth. A few seconds later Kakashi appeared in her vision with a knowing smile on her face causing her stomach to drop uncomfortably. Oh God, they _knew_.

Kakashi was quick to incapacitate Konan when she exited as well, undaunted by Kakazu’s fetish, and swiped the cuffs from her pocket. Now, Rin wasn’t a complete pushover; she kept herself in good health and even went rock climbing with Kakashi from time to time. She managed to wiggle free from Obito’s grip and tried to go after Kakashi in attempt to free her partner, but the Uchiha jerk tripped her and sent them all crashing. The next minute it was an all-out wrestling match that neither female was capable of winning – at least not without kneeing the guys in a place that would leave them writhing. 

It wasn’t long till she found herself donning a bracelet matching Konan with a mutual look of defeat. The boys laughed openly, high giving each other and leading the way to the living room with their heads held high. She and Konan followed, the latter promising retribution in the future but amused regardless, heading straight for the bookcase for the hidden key. They could have seen the cuffs in Konan’s pocket, but surely they didn’t know the key’s location. To their horror, they were wrong.

“Kakuzu, you deceptive butthead!” Rin accused him, her free hand on her hip. “You told them, didn’t you?”

He had only taken a sip of his drink and shrugged. “I’ve no idea to what you’re referring to.”

So now here they were, at the mercy of two gloating jerks, the bunt of their own joke. She had to hand it to them though, figuring out their plan and reversing it on them in such a short time was something to be applauded. Still, there was something she just had to know.

“Where were you two hiding?”

Kakashi’s ears turned a light shade of red while Obito just face palmed. Kakuzu, however, happily supplied, “They were locked in a closet.”

“A closet?!” Konan proceeded to laugh while Rin joined her. That was so much better than being handcuffed together. 

Obito glared at the host. “Whose side are you on?”

“The one that brings me the greatest amusement.”

He was then flipped off by said source of amusement. Kakashi, Rin found, seemed to be taking the humiliation in good strides. He had his head braced against his hand, a small smile on his face as he observed their banter. How much of this was he enjoying on a personal level? 

He caught on to her gaze and the grin grew larger. “Would you like the key, Rin?”

“Are you going to give it to me, Kakashi?” she fired back.

He passed a questioning eye Obito’s way, who only crossed his arms and returned the look with a wicked smile. “I say no. I suffered your bad jokes for this.”

“They weren’t bad,” Kakashi retorted. “They were well suited to the situation at hand.”

Jokes? Kakashi? What sort of jokes was he making in an enclosed space with Obito? Rin’s mind instantly went towards flirtatious jokes, but that was even more unlikely. Even when Kakashi had past relationships, they were more relaxed and quiet than teasing or flirty. No, they were probably puns. 

Konan didn’t come to the same conclusion and perked up from her seat with interest. “What sort of jokes?”

Now it was Obito’s turn to blush slightly, only amusing his couch partner more. “The kind I might hit him for if he repeats them.”

“Puns.” Kakashi confirmed Rin's suspicions and nudged his friend. “They were funny, you were smiling.”

Obito half glanced at him. “Shut up, Kakashi.”

“Kakuzu! We found it!” Deidara bounded into the room, dragging Sasori behind him. “Putting it between the mattresses was pretty smart.”

Sasori sighed. “He only found it because he flopped down on it.”

Their host checked the time on his phone and nodded. “Just within the limit too.”

He texted the rest of the group then and took back the small elf. Their next course of events were the gifts with each person getting two – except Kakuzu who would be getting treated by them all later. When everyone was settled, Kisame took up the role of Santa and began handing everything out. 

Kakuzu had gotten them all something relating to their hobbies. For Deidara a sculpting kit, Sasori a ticket to Akatsuki’s next concert complete with a VIP pass backstage (Obito was extremely jealous), Itachi got a pass to visit a famous chef for a day (who knew he enjoyed cooking gourmet meals?), and Kisame got a picture of a beautiful fish tank with an abundance of tropical fish and a letter stating it was ready for pickup at a local pet store. Asuma and Kurenai’s was a shared gift to a two night stay at an expensive bath house in Kasai. Konan got a full day pass to a spa, Nagato a signed novel and personal letter from his idol Jiraya (he was doing his best not to shake as he read it), and Rin got a collection of sewing materials, patterns, and a gift card to the crafts store (because Kakuzu got confused when he went and didn’t know what materials were classified as good).

Zetsu received an abundance of clothes with the weed plant on it (much to his great amusement and he put the socks on immediately), Hidan was given a collection of old century books from three different religions since Kakuzu was unsure which one he was studying now, Kakashi opened a box containing a traditional katana with his name etched into the side along with a mount for it (Kakuzu mentioned a bigger sword would show the name better than a fencing one and Kakashi just ran his hand over the letters in awe), and Obito got tickets to go see his favorite MMA fighter when the tournament came to Kasai next month. 

The rest of the gifts were an abundance of gag gifts including action figure toys of Shrek, obnoxious lingerie, romance novels with a cucumber, funny car decals, or basically anything from Spencer’s. The best gag gift had been from Hidan to Obito: a playboy magazine with the faces covered by their group of friends. Everyone had been used, even on the wrong body types, leaving a good laugh for anyone looking over Obito’s shoulder as he flipped through. One in particular had a woman in an erotic pose with Kakuzu’s pissed off face covering it and Hidan’s face acting as a cover in every exposed intimate area. Obito was laughing so hard he had to pass the magazine off to Kakashi and wipe at his eyes before tears could fall. 

Rin couldn’t believe it as Kakashi flipped through the rest of the pages like it was one of his Icha Icha books, as casually as one would read a comic book. He really had no sense of dignity. She would have thought while growing up he would become some sort of world leader or businessman. Instead he wanted to work with animals and laze about to watch the clouds go by. He had certainly grown to be an interesting character. Obito, on the other hand, was nearly the same as she remembered. Easy to joke with friends, just as fiercely loyal. The only difference was the seriousness he held at times. Moments when he didn’t think anyone was watching, when he was staying back from their group, when his eyes grew clouded. Like something was on his mind. But then he would brush it off and return back to them. Rin wondered at times if he was stressed from school or there was another reason. But right now, everyone was happy. She couldn’t ask for any more than that.

“Before we start watching a movie, can we get these off?” Konan brought the attention back to them with a rattling of the handcuffs. “They’re starting to chafe.”

With no warning, Obito reached around Kakashi and slipped his hand into the furthest pant pocket. Kakashi jumped in response and offered Obito an offended look. “Hey.”

“Don’t get excited. Your hands were full.” Obito said, clearly meaning it in a jesting way, and pulled the small key out to toss to the girls. “Plus, I think they’ve learned their lesson, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Rin answered, catching the key and working on her cuff. “Don’t trust Kakuzu.”

Kakuzu grunted at the accusation but otherwise showed no sign of taking it personally. 

Once free of the cuffs, Rin settled herself between Nagato and Zetsu on the couch while Deidara sat in front of her to use the couch as a backrest. The rest settled themselves around the living room in similar fashion, all looking like some strange family. Well, more like a bunch of crazy uncles and dysfunctional brothers with the one sane aunt or sister. Hidan probably counted as a pet. 

Nagato leisurely slipped his arm around her while Kisame got up to pick the movie. In the end, Elf had been selected much to Hidan’s displeasure. He had wanted to watch one of the older cartoons. At first the movie was going smoothly, a few chuckles here and there, but somebody ended up getting bored before Buddy had even finished his time at the North Pole. 

“Bye, buddy, hope you find your dad!” Asuma called out with an absurd voice. 

Rin covered her smile behind her hand, trying not to laugh aloud in case it disturbed those trying to watch. Asuma didn’t seem to care and soon was narrating half the movie. Itachi occasionally added commentary on the sanitary habits or insanity of the main protagonist especially when it got to the part when the character dumped syrup in everything. Obito unwillingly cringed at that part and Rin glanced over in time to see Kakashi whisper something in his ear. He was swiftly met with another cringe from Obito and a response whisper. Then it was Kakashi’s turn to shudder and he leaned away.

Honestly, she had no idea what to do with those two. She had heard of the attempts Konan had made to try and push them together, and this time Rin decided to help just to see what would happen. Yet as she watched them, it was like they hardly needed outside assistance. She remembered a time as children how they would mess with each other; Kakashi with his superior attitude and Obito with his gullible personality. 

Could it be that in the past they felt something for each other? She had never thought to look before, and looking back all she could remember were the three of them hanging out as friends. Why was it so different now? What had changed? Maybe she was projecting too much on them out of wishing for their happiness. If it was meant to be, they hardly needed her help.

Her attention shifted to Deidara then, easily within her grasp as a target of her whims. She lifted his hair to pull from between the couch and his back then worked at pulling the hair tie out. He turned a curious eye on her, yet promptly turned forward again without complaint. She had only meant to run her hands through it, acting as a distraction for her hands. Soon she found giving Deidara a new hairstyle appealing. Her hands braided the sides first, pulling them into tight lined against the side of his head until they fell loose at the ends. It was so long that it actually held when she let go of the ends. She probably would have continued to braid all of it if Nagato didn’t lean over and try helping.

Deidara tried to get away from him which quickly led to a slap fight and for Itachi to frown in their direction. “What are you two? Five?” 

“That’s an insult to all five year olds.” Zetsu laughed, the movie now forgotten. 

Nagato leaned forward towards his retreating victim. “Come back, I just wanted to help.”

“Are you drunk? Get away from me!” Deidara retreated across the room until he sat in front of Kurenai next. Amusingly, she continued where Rin had stopped. Seemed the blonde didn’t mind when it was a woman touching his hair. 

“Will you two girls stop gossiping over there?” Kisame said, and suddenly all eyes were on Obito and Kakashi. 

The two of them exchanged a look before Obito responded, “We were trying to figure out who would get their butt kicked first if the two of them started fighting.” 

Instantaneously the two fighting parties said each other’s name in unison then turned to glare at the other.

Hidan stood in the back pumping his fists and whispering loudly, “Fight. Fight. Fight.”

“Damn it, Obito.” Kakuzu sighed a minute before a wrestling match became the new show of the night. The two enablers clinked their glasses together in congrats as they watched their masterpiece unfold.

Rin could only laugh at them, slipping over the furniture in attempt to get a better grasp on the other. Zetsu cheered next to her then playfully patted her arm. “Good job making Deidara’s hair more battle worthy.”

Dysfunctional family indeed. They couldn’t even handle Christmas right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Who doesn't like puns, am I right? Lovely little moment ruiners :D


	10. Uh Oh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while. Between work, other work, school, and surprise party I've been a little busy. We're also catching up to where I'm still in the process of writing, so hopefully in the future I can set it up to have at least one chapter a week. Anyways, hope you enjoy!

“Hypothetically, if I were to meet this mystery man of yours, would it be someone I know?”

Rin only just managed to avoid rolling her eyes as she locked her phone and set it to the side. Almost immediately it lit up again. “He’s not a mystery man, I just have one class with him. I gave him my number for a project we worked together on a few weeks ago.”

“And he’s still messaging you? He must really like you.” Shizune smiled at her. “Have you considered asking him to the formal coming up?” 

Oh no, she had completely forgotten about that. Nursing students were one of the most heavily overworked students and their college decided to set up a dance for them as a form of relaxation. Undergrads and grads alike were invited and all given a plus one. She hadn’t even started picking out dresses yet, much less finding a date to go with her.

“He’s not that kind of friend.” She answered, flipping through her binder to check on the date of the formal. “Do you have someone in mind?” When she wasn’t graced with a response, she glanced up to find her friend blushing and messing with her hands nervously. “Shizune?”

“I was, um, thinking… maybe you could ask Obito for me.”

“Obito?” Rin gasped. “Since when did you two meet?”

“The Future Scholars Competition. I sat next to him on the plane, and then he introduced me to Mrs. Tsunade. It's honestly the most amazing thing that someone has ever done for me to further my career connections. Do you think he would like coming to this sort of thing?”

Even if she sat and thought about it, Rin had no idea. She had never seen Obito dress up for anything fancy before much less seen him dance professionally. The closest she had come was New Year’s when they met at Kisame’s house for fireworks – living by the ocean provided all the extra security for their firecracker shenanigans. Obito had grabbed her hand and brought her towards the outdoor stereo to dance with him. Being one of the few sober ones, one would have thought he could at least dance to the beat but instead he simply followed her lead. Given that she was drunk, it only made them both look like total idiots. 

“I think you should ask him.” She decided. Ever since the Christmas party, Rin had made the decision to keep from trying to set either of her friends up unless they asked for it. Her role would stay strictly support, not as initiator. Konan had been a little sad to lose her partner in crime, but every once in a while she would still run new ideas by her. Rin had to admire her determination, but part of her couldn’t help but wonder how much Konan actually wanted them together or if she purely enjoyed messing with them. 

Shizune hid behind her hands. “But what if he says no?”

“I have plenty of other male friends this year, and I’m sure one is bound to tell you yes. Or you could ask Iruka. He’s really sweet.”

“I suppose.” She responded absently. “When do you see Obito next? Maybe I can tag along.”

“I’ll message him now.” Rin returned her phone to her hand and frowned, scrolling through her earlier messages. “Really this guy… Hang on, I’ve got to answer this guy back first.”

She sent a message, no longer than a few words, before moving on to find Obito’s number in her phone. They usually didn’t hanged out much during the week since neither of their schedules allowed for much wiggle room, but hopefully she could find a good meeting time.

> Rin: _Hey, what are you up to right now?_

The message had hardly been sent before her phone dinged in response to an incoming text. Expecting it to be Obito, she opened it without thinking and felt her eyes widen in response.

“Is that him?” Shizune asked, leaning forward with interest.

Rin backed out quickly and shook her head. She was about to say it was someone else when another message came in, followed by another, and then a third. Half of her wanted to toss her phone in the nearest puddle but that would be wasteful seeing as it wasn’t exactly a cheap model. 

A single laugh interrupted their conversation, accompanied by a familiar red haired man. He placed himself at the table that the girls shared, across from Shizune and next to Rin. “I knew Rin was popular, but sounds like her fan club got her number.” 

“It’s not like that, Sasori. Really, this guy is getting annoying.” She answered the text with a single word and set it back down on the table. 

Sasori’s face dropped slightly. “Who’s bothering you?”

Rin waved it away, trying to brush the whole thing off. “No one, it’s fine. They’ll get bored eventually, or I’ll just block them. Anyway, what’re you doing on this side of campus?”

“Finding you.” He reached into his bag and pulled out one of his playbooks, opening it and flipping it around towards her. “I’ve been working on a project that uses a bunch of medical terms. Can you tell me if I’ve used them right?”

“Sure.” She reached for the notebook when her phone went off again. Fearing it to be her mystery man, she was hesitant to lift it. This time it was Obito.

> Obito: _Leaving the gym and headed home. What’s up? ___

_  
___  


__“He’s probably still on campus.” Rin told her friend. “Would you like me to ask him to meet you?”_ _

__“If he’s busy, he doesn’t have to.” Shizune answered nervously. “I can always stop by his work later sometime.”_ _

__“Who?” Sasori looked between the two of them. “What am I missing?”_ _

__“Shizune wants to ask Obito out to the formal our college is hosting.” Rin smirked as she watched her friend squirm in response. “Do you know if Obito owns a suit?”_ _

__“He used to go to formal parties for his uncle a lot when we lived in Chikyū, so I’m sure he won’t embarrass you. I can’t guarantee he’ll go, though.”_ _

__“It’ll be worth a shot, right Shizune?”_ _

__The younger nursing student had already proceeded to hide her face. Her shyness was incredibly adorable; Rin doubted that Obito would be able to turn her down.__

> __Rin: _Do you have time to meet up with Shizune first?___  
>  Obito: _Sure, but why?_  
>  Rin: _She’ll tell you when you guys meet up. We’re at the library closest to the nursing building._  
>  Obito: _I’ll head over there now. Give me five minutes._

__Five minutes? The gym was on the complete other side of campus, how was he going to get here in – actually he was probably running. Just coming from gym, he probably would have considered a jog another part of a daily exercise. What she would give to be just as motivated as him when it came to working out._ _  


__Rin shut her phone again and turned to the still blushing Shizune. “He says he’s going to be here in five minutes. You can meet him out front if you don’t want an audience.”_ _

__“Rin! That’s really sudden!” Shizune gasped although she was already on her feet. “Oh gosh, I’m totally unprepared.”_ _

__“Just tell him there’s free food.” Sasori suggested._ _

__Rin chuckled at the thought although Obito was one of the few people in their group that was led by his stomach. If anything, he monitored what he ate more than the rest of them, even going so far as to plan meals a week in advance just to be able to eat fun foods like pizza or other fast food. At least it paid off, he had the type of body loads would kill for. It was hardly surprising that Shizune was attracted to him. Even Rin had entertained the idea of flirting with him, but with everything going on in her life right now between class, work, and trying to upkeep a social life she wasn't sure if she would have time for anyone._ _

__She wished her friend luck and pulled Sasori’s notebook to her once more. Most of the things he had were common knowledge things for nursing students and she could easily confirm most of it as correct. With permission, she made small notes on the side of better situations or treatments that would progress his written scenes to run more smoothly. He leaned on the table and asked questions from time to time in order to get a better understanding of what he would be using the treatments for. The scene dealt with one of his characters getting poisoned with only three days to live, and he wanted to know every available option to heal him._ _

__Rin was about to suggest a common plant that was known to slow infection when she saw her phone light up again. More messages. She wasn’t the only one to notice either. Moving quickly to avoid him from seeing, she took the phone and flipped it over._ _

__Sasori narrowed his eyes on the phone suspiciously. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell me if someone is bothering you?”_ _

__“It’s fine, really.”_ _

__His mouth went into a straight line, not believing her for a second. Still, he didn’t press the subject and brought the attention back to the notebook. The next thing he wanted to know was for a scene he hadn’t written yet. One of his characters was going to get in a fight, and Sasori was curious how long it normally took for someone to regain consciousness after being physically knocked out._ _

__Whatever this story was sounded interesting. It wasn’t for school, Sasori enjoyed free writing as a English/Theater double major and was curious to see if he could get the school to perform something he wrote. His only problem was that this specific play dealt with ninja, and there were few people who had the athletic build or skills to perform some of the scenes with accuracy and he didn’t want to dumb down the scenes._ _

__Rin was about to jokingly ask Sasori if he could create a female character based after her, like a medical ninja, when Shizune rejoined them. She sat in the same seat she occupied earlier then let her face fall into her hands with a soft groan. Rin shared a worried look with Sasori, well he actually seemed more curious than worried, and asked, “Did he turn you down?”_ _

__Very slowly, and accompanied with a deep breath, Shizune shook her head no._ _

__“He said yes?” Rin gasped. “Good for you!”_ _

__Finally her friend uncovered her face. “I have no idea what I’m going to wear. I asked him if he already owned a suit so I could find something to match, but he said that was his job and to go pick out something I liked. He even offered to go with me if I wanted.” She offered a sheepish smile to Rin. “He’s really sweet, isn’t he?”_ _

__Sasori snorted a laugh before Rin could answer, causing both girls to turn to him. “Clearly you haven’t seen him in his element. He’s got major attitude problems and is quick to get annoyed. He just happens to be really good about pretending to have manners.”_ _

__“You can’t say that.” Rin scolded him. “You’re supposed to be his friend and boost his good image to those who don’t know him. He’s not that bad.”_ _

__“Are we talking about the same Obito?”_ _

__“There has to be something nice you can say about him, Sasori.”_ _

__He hummed, making a small appearance of having to think about it. “He’s a pretty neat guy so if you go home with him you don’t have to worry about his bed being dirty.”_ _

__“Sasori!”_ _

__Shizune proceeded to cover her face again and mutter something incoherent while Sasori amusingly watched Rin lecture him about being mature._ _

__

__Mid-January brought with it all sorts of weather related problems, the worst including too much snow. There were times Kakashi thought it would never end and no matter how much he delayed himself by sitting indoors with a cup of coffee, eventually he would have to brace the outdoors again. Beside him Hidan was having similar thoughts although he was much more vocal. So far he had insulted the weather five different ways and swore to against every Hollywood version of Jack Frost. They had met up unintentionally; Kakashi and come for the coffee but Hidan was waiting for someone._ _

__“When are you meeting up with Nagato?” Kakashi asked absently, swirling the nearly empty cup around._ _

__Hidan finally stopped insulting the weather’s mother long enough to check his watch. “Not too long now, but he better hurry up. I want to go home and eat something warm.”_ _

__Kakashi tried to offer some coffee but was rejected. “You two don’t normally have classes this late. Why not just meet up at the apartment complex?”_ _

__“Because we’re not meeting up for us.” Hidan wrapped his scarf closer to himself. “Oh thank Christ, there they are. Finally. Later, Hatake.”_ _

__Without pause, and with Kakashi taking precautionary steps away from the cold air outside, Hidan exited the on-campus coffee shop. He walked at a brisk pace towards Nagato, whose hair was a beacon in the snow, and Rin who seemed happy yet exasperated to see him. They had a small conversation that ended with Hidan and Rin walking away together and Nagato heading towards the coffee shop._ _

__As Nagato entered the building, Kakashi lifted an eyebrow at him. Nagato smiled at him and shrugged, walking around him and heading towards the line for Starbucks._ _

__Under normal circumstances, Kakashi wouldn’t question seeing his friends together. However lately, specifically over the past week, he had noticed everyone paying close attention to Rin. At first he assumed it was because they were having a private competition to see who could get invited to her formal first, but then she had asked Nagato to go with her. Still, her escorts didn’t stop._ _

__Kakashi seated himself at a table and waited for his friend to join him, finishing off his drink and tossing it into the nearest wastebasket in the best NBA fashion he could muster. A minute later, Nagato joined him with something that smelled like a caramel latté._ _

__“Am I on bodyguard duty next?” he asked._ _

__“That obvious, huh?” Nagato sighed._ _

__Kakashi slowly turned to him, his shock only shown in the fashion of a slow blink. “I was kidding. You guys are actually acting like her bodyguards? What for?”_ _

__If ‘oops’ could be a facial expression._ _

__“We thought someone was bothering Rin, but she wouldn’t tell us who.”_ _

__Knowing Rin, that wasn’t difficult to believe. She was always the kind of person who would brush off things easily, and if she was being bothered by someone it was plausible she was hoping the situation would go away on its own without confrontation._ _

__“What gave you that idea?”_ _

__“Sasori was with her a few days ago and she wasn’t reacting kindly to getting multiple texts from someone but refused to say who. He managed to sneak a glance at her phone when she wasn’t paying attention and saw something named Mizuki sending some major stalker vibes her way. He mentioned it to a few of us and we decided to walk her to her classes.” He sipped his drink and added, “We would have told you, but we figured then it was too obvious what we were doing. I think she knows though.”_ _

__If she did, she probably didn’t mind the company it was providing her. Or she was bothered enough by this person that she wasn’t going to object to being around friends capable of protecting her._ _

__“Maybe I can meet this guy and see what sort of person he is.” Kakashi offered, but Nagato shook his head._ _

__“Zetsu already did. He said everything was going fine until he mentioned knowing Rin. The guy was instantly curious as to why Rin didn’t text him back and she was acting like a bitch.”_ _

__Kakashi gave a low whistle. “Hopefully Zetsu didn’t hit him for that.”_ _

__“No, but none of us would have blamed him if he did. Instead he just made up and excuse and left. He’s not as an offensive person as a few of our friends.”_ _

__“How long do you plan on escorting Rin from class to class?”_ _

__“Until he’s no longer an issue.”_ _

__It was a simple answer, but the way that Nagato said it left a strange feeling in Kakashi’s stomach. Nagato’s voice had changed suddenly serious and his eyes had hardened for the briefest moment. It was almost threatening._ _

__But as quick as the tone had changed, it morphed into more humorous as Nagato turned a smile towards him. “Did you hear about Obito going to the formal?”_ _

__No, he hadn’t. “I thought Rin asked you.”_ _

__“She did and I plan on attending. Obito got asked by one of Rin’s classmates. I think her name is Shizune.”_ _

__Kakashi’s heart dropped at the name as he remembered the girl from the plane. She still had a thing for him? He had thought she would have forgotten him by now. On a similar note, why did Obito say yes? To be nice or was he interested in her as well? This was rather depressing since he had hoped that he had been gaining Obito’s attention recently. There was no way Obito hadn’t caught on to his hints unless he was really that oblivious. Maybe he should have outright said something to him. Damn, why had he waited?_ _

__Why hadn’t Obito told him?_ _

__“You okay?” Nagato asked, genuinely concerned. “Did you want to go to the dance too?”_ _

__He must not have been that obvious if even Nagato thought he was more concerned about some dance. Sighing, Kakashi shook his head no. “Dances aren’t really my thing. I was just thinking how that coffee isn’t settling well.”_ _

__“I know what you mean.” His friend agreed. “Mine tastes like sludge. I notice that unless you ask for it a specific way, the people on this campus just tend to throw random things together. By the way, since I ran into you, would you mind giving me a ride to my car? I was going to wait for Hidan, but he tends to take forever.”_ _

__“I don’t mind. Did you want to finish that before or after we head out?”_ _

__Nagato looked down at the coffee. “Neither. I’ll just use it as a hand heater on the way.” He stood up, zipping his jacket up as far as it would go and shuffled whatever part of his hand wasn’t touching the cup further into the sleeves. “You ready?”_ _

__Lifting his scarf halfway over his face, Kakashi nodded and led the way towards the door. He braced and forced himself into the cooler weather, instantly being blasted by the wind and chill air. Nagato fell into step beside him, holding the cup to himself as if that would help keep him warm._ _

__Since neither one of them were particularly interested in trying to talk over the wind, Kakashi’s mind traveled to his friends. Rin was having trouble with a student and instead of bringing it up to the school or even police she was allowing the rest of their group to deal with it. He doubted anyone would go to the school on her behalf without her permission, plus he had gotten to know their friends well by now. They were more than likely to confront Mizuki themselves before bringing it up to some else. So far they hadn’t gotten in fights, save for Obito at work or Hidan one time someone had tried to make fun of his hair color. Having a similar hair color, Kakashi was used to the attention that came with it, but he would have never fought someone for calling him an old man._ _

__Kakashi would have to set time aside to talk to Rin about her problem before it escalated. If the guy didn’t back off soon, then it might lead to trouble. The last thing he wanted was for their friends to go on academic probation just to deal with one annoying student._ _

__Then there was Obito and Shizune. Kakashi had little to no right to be jealous, but he found himself disliking the very idea of those two together. Yet what could he really do anyway? He wasn’t dating Obito, he hadn’t even admitted openly to liking him, so where did he get off being upset at the Uchiha’s decisions? He should be happy for his friend. In fact, he was probably overthinking all of this – it wasn’t like Shizune had asked him to go on an official date. They were just going to a formal. As friends Kakashi hoped._ _

__They reached Kakashi’s car and quickly got the heat running so they weren’t shivering against the leather interior. Nagato abandoned his coffee to place his hands under his arms while the car slowly warmed._ _

__Choosing the topic that caused him less stress, Kakashi continued where they left off. “I’ll talk to Rin about this guy who’s bothering her and hopefully get it sorted out. It can’t be as big as it’s made out to be.”_ _

__“I suppose.” Nagato agreed. “If it was, I know a few choice words I’d like to say to him.”_ _

__“Oh? Like what?”_ _

__“Keep your hands off my girl.”_ _

__Kakashi was glad he hadn’t started driving yet and hesitated with his hand on the shift. “ _Your_ girl?”_ _

__His red-haired companion took one look at him and laughed. “Come on, as if it wasn’t obvious I have a thing for Rin. I mean, really, who wouldn’t? She’s an incredibly sweet girl and she’s got amazing looks to go along with it. I can hardly blame her for having some guy following her around, but that doesn’t mean I’m okay with it.”_ _

__Strange, he hadn’t noticed at all. But now that he thought about it, those two had been nearly always sitting next to each other. “I didn’t realize.” He admitted, finally turning his attention to the road again. With all the snow coming at him, it was like watching a scene right out of Star Wars where they did a hyperspace jump._ _

__“I don’t blame you. After all, you’ve been a little,” Nagato paused, finding the right word, “distracted lately.”_ _

__“No I haven’t.” Kakashi objected. His classes had been manageable and he had even been able to spend more time at the vet clinic. If anything, after the break his schedule had been very relaxing. He noticed Nagato blatantly staring at him from the corner of his eye. “What?”_ _

__The man frowned at him, or he was from what Kakashi could tell. “Are we really going to pretend that you’re not interested in a certain someone next door?”_ _

__Heart skipping a beat, Kakashi tried feign ignorance while he felt heat rushing up. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”_ _

__“So we are going to pretend.” Nagato sighed. “You know, half of our friends might be blind idiots, but not all of us are.”_ _

__Perhaps he had been wrong earlier; Nagato was not as oblivious as Kakashi thought him to be. Still, the fact that it was being said aloud was a little unnerving and oddly reliving. As they pulled up to a stoplight, Kakashi leaned back when he realized he had been tensing up and cast his attention to his passenger. “How many people know?”_ _

__“Me, Konan, and Zetsu. Kakuzu might, but then I don’t think he particularly cares either way.”_ _

__It wasn’t surprising that Konan knew seeing as she had been trying to stick them together for the longest time. Kakuzu probably figured out at the Christmas party, but when did Nagato figure it out?_ _

__“How long?”_ _

__He made a humming sound. “I’m not sure exactly. Konan figured it out first. The earliest for me was probably a few weeks ago at New Year’s. I think it was Yamato who asked if you had a resolution and the first thing you did was look over at Obito. After that you gave some boring answer like ‘I don’t have once since I won’t complete it anyway’.”_ _

__Kakashi pouted at that. “That’s not boring; it’s honest.”_ _

__“Boring.” Nagato emphasized it by extending the word out._ _

__They exited the main street from their campus onto one of the back roads that led to their complex. There weren’t many other cars out, but Kakashi made sure to drive slowly anyway. There was no telling what could happen on an icy road._ _

__“I suppose it’s a bit late to tell Obito now, huh?” Kakashi sighed._ _

__“Why’s that?”_ _

__“Because he’s going to the dance with Shizune. A bit weird to confess your feelings to someone who is about to basically go on a date with another person.”_ _

__Unexpectedly, Nagato only found the situation amusing rather than worrying. Not even like he found something funny, but more like laughing at Kakashi like he was an idiot. “Are you serious? She is completely not his type. He likes people who are able to take his personality and dish his jokes back at him. Also someone that can keep up with him physically. I’ve met Shizune before, and while she seems like a nice girl, she’s got this whole lost puppy feel to her.”_ _

__“What do you mean by take his personality?”_ _

__“Well,” he began, taking a moment to think, “I’m sure you’ve been around him long enough to figure him out, plus you’ve known him in his early childhood. He’s a good guy, but he gets lost in his own head sometimes. There were times, especially when I was first getting to know him, where he would spend time just by himself and avoid others. He still does that, but not as much. It’s not that he’s introvert, it’s more like he doesn’t want to drag people into whatever moment he’s having. I think he’s been looking for someone that understands that instead of seeing that it’s something they can fix. That’s where Konan went wrong when they were dating. She would try to comfort him every single time and it got to the point where he got annoyed with it.”_ _

__Kakashi might regret asking but, “What about Zetsu? Didn’t they date too?”_ _

__“Oh right, they did. I totally forgot. I want to say that was more of a trial thing. See, Zetsu is pretty asexual, but Obito was curious to see if that was because Zetsu had never been in a relationship before. Zetsu figured he’d give it a shot, but in the end decided to end it since he still felt nothing towards Obito other than friendship. To be honest, nothing really happened so we all tend to forget that even happened.” He shifted in his seat as the complex came into view in the distance. “Want to know anything about his other relationships?”_ _

__“I’ll pass.” Kakashi wasn’t sure if he wanted to listen to any more since he didn’t want to picture Obito with anyone else. That and he didn’t want to use any past relationship as a basis of how to approach his friend. He still had no idea how he was even going to do that. “Honestly, Nagato, I don’t know what I’m doing. One moment I feel like he’s aware of how I feel towards him, then the next he’s avoiding me.”_ _

__“Yeah, I know what you mean. I’ve heard of the time that Konan pushed you two together and he freaked out. To me, it sounds like he at least as some feelings for you although I don’t know why he is dodging you about it. He could just be completely blind to your attempts and he’s trying to avoid bringing up an awkward situation with you. There’s really no way to know for sure unless one of you say something.”_ _

__“I figured.”_ _

__“So why _don’t_ you say something? Even if he doesn’t return your feelings, he’s not the kind of guy to avoid you after.”_ _

__They pulled into the parking garage, yet even after Kakashi put the car in park and unbuckled the seatbelt he remained where he was. “I guess I’m hoping that Obito will be the one to say it. That if it’s obvious that I care for him more than a friend, he can decide if he feels the same. Or vice versa would happen and he makes it obvious that he’s not interested. I don’t want to say anything if he’s still on the fence one way or the other.”_ _

__“Sounds petty.”_ _

__Kakashi gave a small laugh. “Probably, but even when we were younger, Obito was always the first to figure out how he felt about things. It was so obvious most of the time that a stranger could figure out his favorite flavor of ice cream by simply watching him for five minutes at a store. But now, it’s so much more different.”_ _

__Nagato released his seat buckle and turned more in the car to face him. “Really obvious, huh? There are times when he makes big deals out of little things, but I’ve never seen him be completely up front about his feelings before so I can understand the hesitation. I guess he's change a lot since you knew him last. If you’d like, I could try and find out more for you.”_ _

__“No,” Kakashi assured him, “I’ll figure it out somehow. Eventually.” He sighed, leaning his head against the headrest and closing his eyes. “If only he would admit to liking me like he did before.”_ _

__“Whoa, what? He did what?” Nagato gasped. “When was this?”_ _

__Crap, that had slipped out before Kakashi had meant it to. He covered his face and silently cursed himself. “When we were kids.”_ _

__“No wonder you’re so conflicted. With Obito acting the way he is now, I bet you’re wondering if his taste in people has changed.” When Kakashi turned his way, his eyes confirmed it. Nagato smiled then, lightly punching his friend’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, man. Regardless of why he’s acting standoffish, you’re still completely his type. You’d be Kisame’s type too if only you were more dependent and willing to listen to him all the time.”_ _

__“Right, no thanks.” He didn’t want to picture what sort of couple he and Kisame would make. Kisame was a great friend, but Kakashi was in no way willing to trade a portion of his free will over to someone else. Maybe Shizune and Kisame should couple up instead. “So, does Rin realize you like her?”_ _

__Now it was Nagato’s turn to grow a little flustered. “I’m not sure, really. I was going to ask her out after the formal. You think she’ll say yes?”_ _

__“You’re smart, caring, funny, and you seem to have your life in order. I don’t see why she would refuse.”_ _

__“Perfect. Oh, and by the way, she and I along with Obito and Shizune are going dress shopping tomorrow. Kurenai is tagging along to get a dress for when she attends a different formal party with Asuma with other football coaches. Want to come?”_ _

__Kakashi actually considered it. Going would give him the perfect change to put Nagato’s words to the test and see if Obito really didn’t harbor feelings towards Rin’s nursing friend. At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel like he would be awkwardly third wheeling. So instead he declined the offer. He had other things he could be doing instead of watching girls fuss over what color matched their skin tone best._ _

__They left the car then, heading through the complex towards their building. Nagato tried once more to convince Kakashi to bring the subject up to Obito, but Kakashi quickly detoured their conversation to go back towards how Nagato planned on asking out his childhood friend. In the end, after making Nagato swear to say nothing to Obito, which wasn’t that hard considering Nagato was curious to see how it unfolded on its own, they went to their respective apartments._ _

__The conversation put to rest some of Kakashi’s insecurities, but they also highlighted a few more. He didn’t have to worry that Obito wouldn’t have an interest in him, but he still needed to figure out why Obito was avoiding him. The only thing Kakashi could think of was that he was unsure about their past. He could be worried that there was more to Kakashi than what he saw, or perhaps he was blinded to Kakashi’s attempts like Nagato suggested. Surely it wasn't that he was aware of Kakashi’s feelings and dragged him along for the ride, leading him on just for the sake of it. There was no way Obito would do that to him, at least not purposefully._ _

__Still, how could he approach the topic? Just walk up and be ‘oh hi Obito? How’s the weather? Oh by the way, I like you” or maybe “those flowers are gorgeous, kind of like you’. No, cheesy pick-up lines would only get him laughed at and then rejected._ _

__He sighed and smacked his forehead against the front of his apartment door, struggling to get his thoughts together. As an adult, he should have all this figured out. Telling someone that he liked them should be easy, rejection shouldn’t be as feared, yet why was he acting like this was his first crush? Granted, Obito was the first person he had ever fallen for, but they weren’t kids anymore. This should be simple._ _

__“Kakashi?”_ _

__It took all he had not to jump at the source of his jumbled mind and he turned to see Obito walking up the stairs. Although his face was also half covered by scarf, it was obvious by the way Obito’s eyes shone that he was smiling at him._ _

__“Hey, Obito.” Kakashi greeted._ _

__The Uchiha pulled out his apartment keys and pointed at his door. “Want to come over? I’m making enchiladas tonight, and Konan is staying the night at her boyfriend’s place.”_ _

__“Sure.” He agreed, turning to join his friend. “I didn’t realize Konan was dating someone.”_ _

__Obito shrugged, opening the door and hopping in like he was diving into a heated pool. “I haven’t met him yet, but they only just started dating a few days ago. She’s bringing him over next weekend when he gets back from some ROTC event. I swear, she’s found herself her very own Captain America.”_ _

__Kakashi laughed at the running joke Obito had with Konan’s taste in men – particularly men in uniform. “I suppose the next thing that needs to be done is to decorate her room in American propaganda.”_ _

__The heartfelt laugh he received from that comment brought a smile to his own face._ _

__“You know me so well.”_ _

__Not yet, Kakashi thought to himself, but hopefully soon._ _

__

__For the first time in what seemed like years. Kakashi found himself wandering the city at night. It used to be that he would do this often, finding the city to be peaceful and stimulating for his thoughts. The best part was since it was snowing outside, there were even less people out._ _

__Kakashi had tried to distract himself at home with homework, his novels, and even joining Yamato in games yet no matter what he tried his mind would revert back to a specific person at a specific event. In the end, he allowed his feet to take him away from the apartment and towards the city. This, as it turned out, was not the greatest idea. Every few blocks he found someone else dressed up fancy or couples laughing together. Those who were attending the formal tonight were either leaving early to go out to dinner with friends or deciding to join late night clubs. One group in particular had started a snowball fight and he narrowly missed being nailed in the head because his mind had been elsewhere._ _

__Currently he found himself at a park he used to go to often as a child, finding no children there now and only the occasional person walking by. He planted himself on the swing and swayed back and forth, looking up at the sky to watch how the snowflakes fell. If he had been smart, he would have invited his roommate or someone else to join him to provide conversation. Then again, persuading them to leave their comfortable apartments to brace the cold outside wouldn’t be so easy._ _

__He could visit his father who still lived in the city. He might get scolded for walking nearly an hour in the cold weather though, or there was a chance his father might not even be home. As a criminal investigator, there were times when his job kept him working late and as it was a Saturday night, the chances of him being home were slim._ _

__Feeling the chill get to him now that he was no longer moving, Kakashi set a destination towards his old neighborhood. His father had long since moved away from that area, but Rin’s parents still resided there. It had been a long time since he visited them, and it was only a thirty minute walk if he kept up a brisk pace. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets, burying his face further into his scarf and wiggling his shoulders up in attempt to defy the wind. He was going to be so glad when this cold front was past and it started warming up in preparation for Spring. He loved the in between whether where the temperature was just right, not too hot or cold. Why did those times never last as long?_ _

__Deciding to avoid the streets of the city and all the formal couples, Kakashi took a shortcut through the wooded portion of the park. There were biking trails and walking trails, but years of living here had given him plenty of time to explore every inch of the place. No doubt if he looked hard enough, he would find the secret hideout that he, Rin, and Obito used to hang out in when they avoided their parents trying to bring them home._ _

__Ducking under low branches, he shuffled down a hill but caught a tree root hidden beneath the snow and tripped. He tried to avoid the trees as he slid down the hill, turning so that his feet went first and slowed the momentum. The sliding took him a few feet further as he reached the bottom, almost to the point that his feet hit the road that the snow had been melted on due to salt. No one could ever say Kasai didn’t take care of their bikers._ _

__“Guess that’s one good reason I’m alone right now.” Kakashi said to himself, patting his chest where his heart had jumped. Hidan or Kisame for sure would have cracked a joke about him being the most ungraceful person of the day; others would have simply laughed._ _

__He dusted the snow from his clothes before it got the opportunity to melt then decided the safer thing would be to continue along the park road. It was pedestrian only, but cars could have easily fit on it. Large trees and benches littered the sides where the middle of the road was completely open. Maybe one or two people were walking along it, but for the most part it was abandoned._ _

__Kakashi had took a few steps down the road when he heard something. He couldn’t identify it, but it not a normal city noise. A moan?_ _

__Praying to whatever god was listening that he wasn’t about to come across a couple making out in the woods, Kakashi left the road to the woods again, trying to locate the source. There were imprints in the snow, barely, of footprints that had long been covered with a fresh coat of snow. He decided to follow this a few feet further then froze._ _

__Before him, in a few different places, was blood. Small dots here and there, but as his eyes trailed further up he began to notice a trail. What a time to not bring a pocket knife or literally anything to defend himself. He removed his gloves in case he was walking into a fight and changed his pace to a crawl and continued. “Hello?” he called out, moving slowly so he could hear a response._ _

__For a full minute there was nothing, just the silence and occasional wind. Fearing the worst, he picked up his pace and then heard another moan. This time it was obvious the source was in pain._ _

__The amount of blood and disturbed snow only increased until he finally found what he was looking for. A man with silver hair, severely beat up and hardly conscious, lay just behind a bush and bleeding from his nose and lip. The first thing Kakashi did was pull his phone out and call the police, giving the best directions he could muster before grabbing the unknown man. There was no telling how long he had been out here, most of the ruffled snow had been covered by snow and even the man himself was half buried in it. He made to pull the man from under his arms until the man cried out. One of his shoulders had been dislocated._ _

__“Hang on.” Kakashi said, adjusting the man into a different position and putting any medical knowledge he had to use. He was used to operating on animals, so by relation fixing a person’s shoulder couldn’t be that different. “This is going to hurt.”_ _

__The man made no motion that he understood or even heard Kakashi, merely assuming the role of a rag doll. As quickly as he could, Kakashi relocated the shoulder with a loud pop. The man cried out and fell unconscious in nearly the same instance._ _

__“Sorry.” Kakashi offered and pulled him the same way he had come towards the road. Sirens were already heard in the distance, and by the time Kakashi got the unknown victim to the side of the park road he could see their lights. Unsure of what else on this guy was injured, Kakashi did his best to adjust him comfortably until the medics could get to them. From the looks of it, this guy could have been a student of Konoha as well; he appeared to be the same age as Kakashi. What could have happened to make someone beat the man up this bad?_ _

__The medics joined him not long after, setting up the stretcher next to them. They moved carefully to get the man from the ground and onto the bed before wheeling him to the car. One medic in particular came up to Kakashi. “Do you know him?”_ _

__“No,” he slightly shook his head. “I just found him. Who is he?”_ _

__The man brought out a wallet that they had took from the kid as the others lifted him into the vehicle. “His name is Mizuki, a student at Konoha University. Doesn’t sound familiar?”_ _

__Kakashi’s blood ran cold at the name, but for what reason he couldn’t tell. It could have been because he had just helped the man causing so much trouble for Rin, but it was probably the fact that he may have known who did this. “No.” he told the man again._ _

__“Well, you probably just saved his life. Any longer out here and he could have been in serious risk of frostbite or hypothermia. What’s your name?”_ _

__Kakashi hesitated, not sure if he should give it. On one hand, he didn’t want Mizuki to realize who saved him and draw connections back to Rin. On the other, he didn’t want to be recognized as some hero or even have Mizuki associate with him._ _

__The man seemed to sense the awkward tension and patted him on the shoulder in a friendly way. “You don’t have to say, but thanks for what you did.”_ _

__“Sure.” Kakashi responded, finding his gloves and reapplying them. “I hope he’s alright.”_ _

__“He will be. Make sure you get home safe.”_ _

__Kakashi gave the vehicle plenty of room to turn around and head back to the hospital, waiting until they were blurs in the distance until he pulled out his phone. The first thing he did was message Nagato.__

> __Kakashi: _Where are you guys right now?___  
>  Nagato: _We’re at a late dinner at a steakhouse. Why?_  
>  Kakashi: _Do you know if anyone was keeping tabs on that Mizuki guy tonight?_  
>  Nagato: _No, why?_  
>  Kakashi: _Because I just found him in the park and he’s on his way to the hospital._

__For a while Nagato didn’t response. Kakashi would have thought with Nagato being so protective of Rin at the moment, he would have known something about what happened. At the very least who might have done it. Then again, if they were at dinner he may be trying to hide his phone._ _  


__Right when Kakashi thought Nagato wasn’t going to answer, another text rolled in.__

> __Nagato: _So far as I know, we all had things going on tonight. Maybe he just pissed the wrong person off tonight. It is Saturday night and there’s plenty of drunk people out.___  
>  Kakashi: _Yeah, you’re right. Enjoy your night._  
>  Nagato: _Where are you right now? Obito wants to know why you’re freezing your butt off outside._  
>  Kakashi: _Tell him I got bored and decided to go on a walk._

__He had no idea what he was thinking, assuming it could have been one of their friends. If he had thought about it long enough, he would have remembered how many people were making plans. Kisame was prepping for a trip he was going on tomorrow out on the ocean. Zetsu and Kakuzu were meeting up to go gambling, Konan was with her boyfriend, and the others were hanging out for a local movie night. Kakashi had been invited before he decided to go on a walk instead. Of course they couldn’t have done it._ _  


__Nagato was right. Given the way he described Mizuki’s personality, there was a good chance he had just rubbed someone the wrong way. Kakashi’s phone was halfway to his pocket before it went off again.__

> __Obito: _Go home, Kakashi. You’re going to get jumped being by yourself at night._  
>  Kakashi: _Who says I’m alone?_  
>  Obito: _Prove me wrong.__ _

_  
_Kakashi felt a smile growing on his face as he turned to head back in the way of his apartment. Was Obito actually worried about him?_  
_

> Kakashi: _I think I know this city well enough to know which areas to avoid._  
>  Obito: _You just saw someone off to the hospital. How is that safe?_  
>  Kakashi: _Because I was taking a shortcut. I’m fine, Obito, enjoy your night._  
>  Obito: _Either tell me you’re going home, or I’m going to come find you and drag you to dinner with us. You can borrow Nagato’s tie because it is the ugliest color of purple I have ever seen._

A laugh escaped his lips as he thought about Obito and Nagato arguing over their outfits. Obito had worn a dark grey suit with a red tie to match Shizune’s flowing red gown. Nagato had worn a white suit with a purple tie to match Rin. Kakashi had been hanging out with them while they were preparing, both of them arguing over the best way to tie a tie. Obito had experience with attending events with his Uncle, but Nagato had been looking up new ways to tie a tie that gave it a more interesting appearance.

> Kakashi: _Fine, I’m going home. I’d hate to seem out of place in my casual clothes._  
>  Obito: _Don’t get kidnapped._

Yeah, like anyone would kidnap him. Kakashi may not have been trained in MMA like Obito had, but he was far from defenseless. He sent back a thumb up to his friend and returned the phone to his pocket. As he said, he would head home, but not before he made a stop at the local coffee store. There was a good chance he might actually freeze if he didn’t. He was basically going to live at these stores until winter was over.

__Thankfully most of the people out tonight weren’t at the coffee store, the local bar a few stores down was packed though, and Kakashi didn’t have to wait forever to get his drink. He kept it mostly black but added a sugar packet before bracing the cold again. Now that he had a destination in mind, his thoughts reverted back to how long it was going to take him to get home. He could always visit Rin’s parents at a later date, and besides they would probably just bring up school again._ _

__What was Kakashi going to do when he got home? It would be a while yet for Obito, Rin, and Nagato to get home and they would likely just crash after being out for the majority of the day. He could just go to sleep early, but with the coffee it wouldn’t be that easy. He drug his feet through the snow, humming lightly to himself and shuffling the cup around. Yamato was likely playing games right now and not doing anything important. What were the odds he could get his roommate to give him a ride home?_ _

__Part of him entertained the idea of walking by the steakhouse to see if his friends had a window seat. At the same time he didn’t want to interrupt their evening more than he already had. Nagato had clearly shown Obito their conversation, but had he shown Rin? How would she have reacted? She would have felt guilty – it was in her as a nurse to want to take care of everyone. Kakashi was glad that he found Mizuki instead of her, there was no telling what she would have done. Follow him to the hospital most likely to ensure he was okay, and that wouldn’t have helped him become unattached to her._ _

__“Kakashi!”_ _

__He halted at his name as a car pulled over at a parking spot closest to him. He recognized the red hair and walked over to the open window. “Hey, Sasori. What’re you up to?”_ _

__“Grocery run.” He gestured towards his back seat where the plastic bags were stacked evenly._ _

__Kakashi frowned slightly and checked the time. “This late?”_ _

__“It’s the best time since no one is around. Why are you out here?”_ _

__“A walk.” He shrugged. “I ran out of things to do at home.”_ _

__Sasori blinked at him, using an expression that was unreadable. It wasn’t the first time that Kakashi was left wondering what was going on in his head. “Want a ride home?” he offered then._ _

__There went his need to call Yamato. “That would be great actually.”_ _

__He joined Sasori in his car, not realizing how cold he had been until the heat from the vents burned his skin. He carefully adjusted them away from his face and pulled the gloves from his hands._ _

__Sasori slowly pulled out into the street again and made for their complex, making Kakashi’s multi-minute walk into a shorter one. “If you’re still bored when you get home, you’re more than welcome to come over to my place. Hidan and I were going to have a movie night.”_ _

__“Sure. What movie?”_ _

__“Sucker Punch. Hidan wanted an action movie and I wanted a mind twisting one. We compromised.” He turned a corner more slowly than Kakashi had ever seen someone turn and continued, “I hate cold weather. I should move back to Kaze city, it never snows there. Like endless summer.”_ _

__“Sounds way too hot there.”_ _

__Sasori shrugged. “When that’s what you grow up with, that’s what you’re used to.”_ _

__Kakashi sipped at his coffee, disappointed to find it already cooling off. “So you were raised in Kaze, went to school in Chikyū, and now you’re in Kasai. Where next, Sasori? Mizu? Raitoningu?”_ _

__“Hmm, probably Mizu. I’ve always wanted to meet the people who raised Kisame into the beast he is.”_ _

__“Beast?” Not that Sasori was entirely wrong, Kisame was abnormally large and towered over others with intimidating dominance. “He’s not that bad.”_ _

__Sasori offered a dull stare then quickly turned his eyes on the road. “Say that again when you’ve learned his history.”_ _

__“Why do I get the feeling that everyone in our group has some sort of hidden back story? What are we? A living comic book?”_ _

__“What’s yours then, Kakashi? Neglectful parents? Got lost in the woods and got raised by wolves?”_ _

__Kakashi smirked at that thought, the image of all his dogs coming to the front of his mind. “My mom left when I was really young, but I don’t really remember her anyways. My dad says that I’m not missing much.”_ _

__“My parents were businessmen who were constantly away from home. I was mostly raised by my grandmother, in fact from what I know it’s a very similar situation to Obito. The only difference is that my parents are still living. It’s thanks to them I can afford to be at college so far from home, and they finance my decisions so long as I keep up my grades.”_ _

__“That’s not too bad I suppose. What about Deidara?”_ _

__“His father is a convict and his mother was a drug addict. He was in and out of foster homes as a trouble child until he was old enough to fend for himself. Dei was in a bad place until he met the rest of us, and we collectively helped him out.” He made a thoughtful sound and continued, “Zetsu’s parents are very chill, so he got to do whatever he wanted when he was younger. It wasn’t until he started getting mixed up in bad things did he develop a moral compass. Hidan was always a trouble child, you know, the one that always got into fights and had to take summer classes. He also wanted to be an exorcist so he tried summoning demons or something which marked him as insane. That was back in high school, though.”_ _

__Demons? Kakashi made a mental note to never piss Hidan off for fear of being cursed by him. The last thing he needed was something on his shoulder telling him bad things about himself._ _

__“We really are comic book characters. Let’s make a reality show out of our lives.”_ _

__“I’ll pass. I want to be the person directing the show, not participating.” He pulled into their complex and jumped out to get the bags from the car. Kakashi promptly went over to join him. “What about Yamato, Asuma, or Kurenai? Do they have tragic backstories?”_ _

__“Asuma was a rebel child against his father for a long time. His dad was a great man, but Asuma wanted to break from his shadow. Kurenai kept mostly to herself, so she’s got about the most average life of all of us. Yamato was adopted when he was ten after his parents gave him up, so he has parental trust issues. He likes his adoptive family, but he’d much prefer to be around us than them. He still hasn’t met all his siblings yet.”_ _

__“This would be great to add to my story.” Sasori said, although it was more like he was talking to himself. “I’d have to change a few plot points around…”_ _

__“Are you building characters off of us?”_ _

__“Of course.” Sasori led the way to the hallway. Thankfully he lived on the first floor and their trip wasn’t that far. Hidan already had the door unlocked, so all Sasori had to do was gracefully kick at it until his roommate answered. “As you said, it’s like we’re all in a book. There’s never an end to the material I can use thanks to you all.”_ _

__“I’m so glad to be of use.”_ _

__He dropped the groceries on the kitchen counter for Sasori to begin putting away then made his way into their living room. Unlike Obito and Konan’s apartment that had been decorated leisurely with agreeable tastes, Hidan and Sasori were clearly clashing. There were religious trinkets or draperies covering parts of the wall, and posters from major plays/movies in other places. There were more bookshelves than Kakashi had seen in a single apartment before, all littered with an accumulation of their interests. It was clear they hadn’t decided how they were going to set up the apartment and merely put things where there was room._ _

__Kakashi took up the single seat while Hidan and Sasori claimed the couch. The living room light was left off so the room was lit only by the television and kitchen, the perfect mood lighting that accompanied the theme of the movie. It was for sure a mind twisting movie that Sasori wanted; Kakashi had a hard time figuring out exactly what it was supposed to be about. Expectedly Hidan was having trouble with it as well and decided to make a drinking game for it. Any awkward moment, fight scene, half naked girl, or slow motion scene resulted in a drink. In short, Hidan was attempting to get alcohol poisoning._ _

__“Thees is great. I’mr drin to thees movrie from new on.” Hidan slurred, leaning heavily on Sasori who looked quite ready to throw him on the floor and leave him there._ _

__Kakashi offered a sympathetic look before leaning forward and taking Hidan’s cup from his hand before he spilt it all over himself. The drunkard realized the cup left his hand and instantly went on the hunt for it all in the wrong places. He checked his shirt, attempted to check Sasori’s – who kept him away at arm’s length – then slipped onto the floor to check under the couch._ _

__Sasori released a heavy breath, shaking his head as Hidan lost balance and fell over. “My apologies for my terrible roommate.”_ _

__“It’s fine.” Kakashi assured him. “It’s a weekend anyway.”_ _

__“Yeah!” Hidan pointed at Kakashi emphasizing the word, leaning too far forward and nearly tumbling again had Sasori not caught him. “Plus, we dun needs tur watch Rin no mores.” He flashed Sasori a smile, “Problims solves.”_ _

__For a moment the room went still, processing what Hidan just said. He couldn’t possibly be implying that he solved the problem, could he?_ _

__But Sasori heaved his roommate up from under his arms with visible effort. “Shut up, Hidan, you’re drunk. We still have to walk her to class.”_ _

__“But, Sasori – ow!” his shin ran into the coffee table nearly taking him and Sasori down together._ _

__The redhead struggled to lift his roommate and promptly started leading him to his room. Kakashi ran thoughts over in his head. Nagato could have messaged them that the need to watch Rin was no longer needed, after all Mizuki was in the hospital now, but then why was Sasori denying it? If Nagato had told one of them, he must have told all of them, right?_ _

__He heard the mattress squeak in the other room followed by, “Hidan, let _go_.” There was another exclamation of pain then Sasori rejoined him in the living room. “I’ll check on him later to make sure he isn’t smothering himself in pillows.”_ _

__“You guys aren’t watching Rin anymore?” Kakashi explored casually, messing with the DVD case._ _

__“We are.” Sasori confirmed. “That creep might still come after her.”_ _

__“Did he ever stop?” he asked carefully._ _

__Sasori frowned slightly, although it didn’t look aimed at Kakashi. “Not really.”_ _

__Kakashi stood and went to the DVD player to remove the disk, keeping Sasori within the peripheral of his vision. “I could help out if you guys need an extra hand.”_ _

__The frown deepened. “I don’t think that’ll be needed.”_ _

__“Why not?”_ _

__Finally Sasori looked at him, his eyes almost accusing as if he was on to what Kakashi was doing. “We can handle it. Don’t you have work tomorrow anyways?”_ _

__“For a bit.” He confessed. “But I figured I’d throw my hand in if Hidan is unable to get up tomorrow.”_ _

__“Don’t worry about it, Kakashi.” Sasori said, picking up the remote and switching the input to TV. “Have you ever watched Bob Ross before? I found a station the other day that was streaming him the other day.”_ _

__He was changing the subject, it was obvious, and Kakashi felt like he had no choice but to go along with it. He had no evidence that anyone who had been watching Rin had done anything, and he didn’t want to accuse his friends. There was a good chance he was overthinking things and was using this as a distraction to not think of Obito and Shizune on a date together. He needed to pick up a new hobby._ _

__“I haven’t.” he said finally, putting the movie back on the shelf and returning to his seat. “I don’t normally watch someone paint for fun.”_ _

__“Then I’ve got something to show you. He’s incredibly calming; he’s saved me from murdering Hidan in the past.”_ _

__As if on cue, Hidan burst from his room with a horror struck look on his face. "whar’s the barfroom?”_ _

__Too late for anyone to interpret his words, he made it halfway across the room before he projectile vomited on the floor and fell down next to it. Sasori, for the first time since Kakashi had met him, looked furious._ _

__Kakashi gave a nervous laugh, wondering if he was about to witness a second victim to abuse tonight. “Let’s hope he saves Hidan tonight then.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've no idea why, but code is changing after I preview/post the chapters so the text message portions look strange. After this chapter I'll probably just keep the italics out of it. Doesn't really change the story, but figured I'd give a heads up


	11. Known Discoveries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a lot later than I planned it to be, but I finally got it to be in a place I could work with. Sorry for the wait!

Kakashi hated Rin. Honestly, she could just leave and never come back. Who did she think she was? How dare she? The next time she ever needed his help, she could go and jump in a lake. He was done with her. Completely and utterly done. 

He reached over to answer his phone with aggravation clear in his tired voice, “When did you get on my phone to change your ringtone to Justin Beiber’s Baby?”

“What? I didn’t do that.” Came Rin’s objective voice on the other end.

Yeah, right. Who else knew his password and had access to his phone? 

He sighed, sitting up from his bed and checking his alarm clock for time. 5:36 am. He hated Rin. “What’s up?”

“I need to talk to you. Will you come rock climbing with me?”

“Now?” he yawned, already thinking of excuses. It wasn't unusual to go rock climbing with her, but this early? Was she insane? “We usually go on Monday. Why move it up a day?”

“Please, Kakashi? I’ve got something on my mind and it won’t go away. I’ve been up half the night and I need to do, I don’t know, something.”

But why so early in the morning? Kakashi was an early riser, but not that early. She couldn’t have waited a few more hours? There had better be a good reason for this or he might send her to join Hidan. The poor guy had been in the bathroom half the night with Sasori helping and threatening him all at once. 

“I’m not going rock climbing.” He told her and continued quickly before her protesting sounds could interrupt him, “No, listen; I’m too tired for that. How about we go on a walk instead? No one will be on the track at the gym.” Because there was no way he was going on a walk outside. It had finally stopped snowing, but the weather was still bitter cold.

“That’s fine too. I’m already parked at your building so hurry up and get changed.”

“What?” he hopped up and pulled at his window blinds, nearly smacking into his desk in the process. Sure enough, there was her blue car sitting outside. “What would you have done if I decided to ignore your call?”

“Knock on your door until you answered.”

And Yamato would have killed them both. He sighed at her determined voice. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Thanks, Kakashi.”

He hung up and turned longingly towards his bed, half tempted to jump back into it. It was too early for whatever this was, but then Rin never did this. Whatever was on her mind must have been serious. Well, serious enough to face a tired Kakashi. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to being out long.

He changed into some comfortable sweatpants and a loose shirt, making no attempt to even find his athletic clothes. He did, however, slip on some workout shoes and the most insulated sweater he could find before finding his keys and wallet. With any luck, this would go by quickly and he could catch a few more hours of sleep before going into work at ten. Then again, now that he was up he probably wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep.

Had he mentioned that he hated Rin?

Only stopping in the kitchen long enough to grab a breakfast bar, Kakashi headed down the stairs as quickly as he could without slipping and nearly dove into Rin’s car. The first thing he noticed was the warmth of the car, and the second was the smell of coffee. As if on cue, Rin lifted the cup next to and sheepishly offered it to him. “Thanks for coming.”

He took everything back. He loved this woman. 

While he settled into his seat and happily consumed the strong beverage, Rin began the route to the gym. Rin kept quiet for the beginning, allowing time for Kakashi to wake himself up and get his mind moving before she talked about anything serious. In the meantime, he wondered what it could be about. Perhaps she was bothered by the fact that someone took Mizuki out – it would be just like her to feel guilty over something like that since she would think it was because of her – or maybe something had happened between Obito and Shizune. Rin, not as much as Konan, was still concerned over his love life for him. Ever since he and Anko broke up back in his undergrad years, he hadn’t really been looking for another relationship. 

Or it could be a homework assignment. Her life was a giant stress ball in how much work she had to do. There was ever a reason to second guess majoring in something that was literally stealing hours from her life due to being overworked. Or, unlikely, she was PMSing and wanted someone to assure it that everything was going to be okay. So long as Kakashi was supplied with free food or drink, he was okay with being that person.

They pulled into the closest spot they could manage to the front doors, surprised that there were already a few cars here. Kakashi was hardly paying attention, he was estimating how quickly he could get to the front doors before he felt the chill of the air in his bones. Agreeing to the count of three, they bolted from the car and squeezed through the doors without waiting for them to fully open. 

They set their items in a shared locker, and Kakashi tossed his cup away before they made for the track. The best part about showing up early was the lack of people there. It was quiet, peaceful, and there wasn’t the stress of people trying to fulfill New Year’s resolutions. 

“So?” Kakashi prompted as they climbed the stairs to the second floor where the track was located. 

Rin looked conflicted, as though now that the topic were brought up she was second guessing her resolve to say it, but froze when they heard a recognizable laugh. 

She grabbed Kakashi without warning and pushed them behind a wall, peeking around the corner. Curious, Kakashi leaned over her to see what had caused the sudden reaction. Just inside the track was Obito and Zetsu, laughing and making gestures towards the giant loop. Kakashi couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. Both of them wore gym shorts but where Obito’s shirt was loose, Zetsu’s was more dri fit style. Soon they both found a spot on the line and got into a running position. Obito took the inside track and was a few feet ahead, looking determinedly at his path. Zetsu made a noise and both of them shot off at full speed, making good progress until about halfway where Zetsu overtook Obito and finished first. Their joking continued.

Kakashi moved to go and say hi, but Rin pulled him back. If she didn’t want to meet with them, he could only imagine what this conversation was going to be about and none of it good. Especially not with that concerned look she was sporting. 

The two boys made a few more jokes, from the looks of it they were arguing over the fairness of the race since Zetsu was in track, until a third party showed. Kakashi was now very glad that Rin had hid them. 

“My friends! I have just witnessed your youthful race, and I feel so inspired!”

Obito’s face fell faster than Kakashi had ever seen happen on, well, anyone before as he saw Guy approach them. Zetsu looked confused and was clearly waiting for an introduction.

Guy seemed to recognize the former as his trademark smile erupted across his face. “Obito! It is good to see you so early in the morning! Come, we must have another practice match against each other!”

Obito appeared to mutter something in response, looking helplessly at Zetsu who only stared. It was much like how a person would stare at an overenthusiastic alien inviting them to their planet. 

“Nonsense! You look plenty warmed up!” Guy’s voice boomed as he slung an arm around the unfortunate Uchiha. “Let us not waste time and go now! Come, my friend, you can watch and learn what it means to have a hot-blooded fight!”

Learning on the spot, Zetsu ducked and bid his friend good luck before escaping quickly. Obito, however, was dragged away with a look of betrayal on his face towards the half of the gym set up for mock fight training. 

Rin waited for them both to be out of sight before leading the way into the track. “That was close.”

“Care to tell me why that was close? What is this about, Rin?”

Again the nervousness showed up on her face. “I…I think Obito might have something to do with Mizuki’s hospitalization.”

Kakashi would have thought it a joke had she not said it in such a serious tone. “He was with you and Shizune the entire night. How would he have gotten Mizuki to the park and back?”

“I don’t know.” Rin answered with a sigh. “That’s why I’ve been up all night. See, Mizuki showed up last night outside the community center that was hosting the dance. He was heading right for us, but Obito intercepted him and drug him back outside. He told us that he’d be right back, but he was gone for like twenty minutes. I didn’t learn about Mizuki until dinner, but Kakashi, what if he got some of our friends to do something?”

“Like who? Nearly everyone was doing something.”

“I don’t know, but what if someone wasn’t doing what they said they were? Like Sasori and Hidan said they were going to have a movie night.”

“They did, I was there for that.”

“Zetsu and Kakuzu?”

“Gambling. Zetsu even posted pictures online. What makes you so sure it was our friends?”

Rin’s lips tightened in a childishly determined way. “You didn’t see the way Nagato and Obito reacted to your text last night. Nagato got all concerned and started whispering to Obito. And Obito instantly pulled out his phone to message Sasori.”

Sasori? Kakashi had expected her to say that Obito was texting him, which was true, but Sasori? “Why him?”

“He said he knew Sasori was out and about and should go to pick you up. At first I thought it was because it was worried about you, but then I got to thinking that maybe he didn’t want you to find out who did it.”

That…was scarily accurate. It made sense to be suspicious knowing Sasori was out when he and claimed to be setting up a movie night unless they had been previously texting. Maybe Kakashi should have questioned Sasori more. Putting that together with what Hidan was drunkenly saying, maybe Rin was on to something. 

“Anything else?”

Rin turned a hopeful eye to him. “Do you believe me?”

“It’s possible, but I’d rather not think that our friends are capable of leaving someone alone in the winter. Mizuki could have been in a much worse state had I not found him.”

“What do we do?”

Good question. “Why don’t we ask him?”

She frowned at him. “Just like that? ‘Hey, Obito, did you nearly beat a man to death the other night?’ He might be a little offended, Kakashi.”

“Well obviously we won’t ask him like that.” Kakashi laughed mildly at her concern. “I’m quite the smooth talker when I want to be. Still, what do you plan on doing if he denies involvement?”

Rin pounded her fist inter her hand. “Make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

“And that would be?”

“Threaten to delete his Xbox save files. Konan would let me in the apartment and he knows it.”

Kakashi felt bad for whoever Rin decided to date – at this point Nagato. Deleting files was something every gamer cringed at, and poor Obito might die if it happened to him. 

“Why not just steal the games instead?”

“Because he’ll just rebuy them." 

Kakashi hummed in silent agreement. “So how was last night? Aside from the Mizuki incident, did anything fun happen?”

“Oh.” Rin’s face dusted a darker shade. “Nagato asked me out.”

Good for him. “And?”

“I, uh, told him I’d tell him today.”

What was it with the two of them that they couldn’t make up their minds on the spot? No wonder Obito had been so annoyed with him in the past. “Rin, either you like him or you don’t.” Kakashi scolded her lightly, feeling like he was somehow echoing Obito’s words. 

She covered her cheeks with her hands. “I mean, I do like him but I was just so shocked that he asked that I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t think he noticed I liked him.”

And Kakashi found it hard to believe that _she_ didn’t notice Nagato liked _her_. Not that Kakashi had room to talk. “So it’s safe to assume you’re going to tell him yes.”

“Yeah, I’m going to meet up with him for lunch if he’s free.”

“Then I’m happy for you.”

She jabbed him playfully in the side. “So when are you going to start dating someone?”

He sighed at her. “When I get around to it.”

She offered a knowing smile that he avoided by exiting the track. “Let’s go find Obito so we can put your mind at ease, shall we? Can’t have this in the back of your head while you’re at lunch with your soon-to-be boyfriend.”

They left together the same way they saw Guy kidnap Obito, the entire time trying to figure out how to see if Obito was really involved or not. Neither one wanted to suspect their friends, and somewhere deep inside they wanted to let the situation go. But as much as a creep Mizuki might have been, he hadn’t deserved the version of justice served on him. Kakashi nor Rin would be able to let it go if they had been deceived. Being left in the dark wasn’t the best position to put a friend.

But what were they going to do if it turned out it was Obito or someone else they knew? More accurately, what could they do?

A few minutes of trying to navigate a part of the gym they never had a reason to visit before, they found a ring surrounded by linked fence with two individuals going at each other. This part of the gym was completely made up to be just like an actual arena so that the trainees could get used to the sight. One was wearing a pair of black shorts with a red and white fan on the side; the other sported green spandex shorts. They each wore padded gloves that hardly did much to soften the blows, and were grappling for the upper hand for the most part. Kakashi took up seats nearby to watch the fight.

Obito showed speed in this ring that he hadn’t shown against Zetsu. He smacked away Guy’s punches, dodging others last minute, and countered reasonably. Some punches even seemed like they were going right through him; there was no way he didn't feel the wind that followed those attacks. Guy seemed to just be enjoying himself. At one point he even did a backflip to avoid Obito to which the latter gave him a look that simply said ‘really’. 

Kakashi grinned as he realized their fight was more of a way for them to mess with each other. One would go on the offensive and the person dodging would find unique ways to counter. At one point, Obito made a shocked look, pointed behind Guy, then tripped him when he turned rather than punch his shoulder or something jokingly related. When the roles switched, Guy went to one knee and pretended to offer his hand to Obito. Humorously, Obito took it and allowed himself to be flipped over Guy’s shoulder. It all looked like good fun, but it was also a way for the other two to counter new moves. 

The battle ended when both seemed to have the silent agreement to take it seriously. Their speed and techniques increased, but the power behind their punches or kicks were still held back. They made much more use of the rest of the ring as well, but the battle turned when both fell to the floor in an attempt to get the other in a lock. 

Before either could succeed, an alarm went off and they broke apart. Obito remained sitting on the ground, stretching his arm from where it had almost been put into a lock, while Guy bounded over to a phone on the side that Kakashi hadn’t noticed before to stop the sound. 

“A brilliant battle, my friend. You’re skill has increased tremendously since our last clash.”

Obito smirked in amusement. “It was two days ago, Guy. Hardly time to increase skill.”

“Nonsense! I increase my strength daily with my self-rule! For example, I’m off to do one hundred pushups and one hundred sit ups. Would you like to join me?”

“I’ll pass.” He responded, lifting himself from the floor. “Another time.”

“You said that last time! Come now, Obito, you must train your body.”

Kakashi took this opportunity to make his way to the cage, leaning against it. “Sorry, guy, he’s got prior engagements with me.”

Both men inside the turned, one more shocked then the other, then the one in spandex jumped the fence to grab Kakashi by the arms. “Kakashi, my eternal rival, it has been much too long. How have you been faring?”

“Been keeping up with training here and there.” Kakashi answered vaguely. “Actually, Rin was curious about the fighting you guys do and was curious about some self-defense training. Think you could help her?”

“What?” Rin perked up but Guy was already bounding over to her with all the enthusiasm of a kid at Disney land. Kakashi would have felt guilty had Rin not woke him up at the crack of dawn. She may have gotten him coffee, but he was still entitled to revenge. Guy hauled her to a nearby room that was matted off so he could begin to teach her some of the quickest ways to get out of holds. She glared retribution at him, but offered no struggle. 

In the meantime, Kakashi turned his attention back to the man regarding him curiously. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Obito grinned back. “I could say the same. What are you doing here so early? This is supposed to be your off day.”

“Couldn’t sleep, to be honest.” He lied smoothly, finding his way to the entrance of the ring, completely aware of Obito’s eyes on him the entire way. “Isn’t it too early to be fighting?”

“No,” Obito gave a laugh and nodded in the direction their friends went. “It’s too early to be fighting _Guy_. I just wanted to get some normal practice in, but today he found me.”

Very true. Guy was overbearing on good days, but mornings were when he shown. For someone like Kakashi, who wasn’t as enthusiastic over little things, it was hard to manage. It was part of the reason he switched to afternoon workouts with Rin. 

“How about practicing with me?” he offered. 

“You?” Obito raised an eyebrow, causing Kakashi to feel like he was being underestimated. “You wouldn’t last five minutes.”

“Sounds to me like you’re trying to back out, Obito.”

Those seemed to be the magic words. Obito’s smile grew wider and he pushed away from the fence. “Alright then, let’s make a bet out of this, shall we? I fend off your attacks for five minutes, you cook me dinner. Like a really good one.”

“And if I win?”

Obito shrugged. “I don’t know. What do you want?”

Kakashi wanted to know everything that Obito did about Mizuki, but stating that now would only make Obito back out. “For fifteen minutes, you’ll do whatever I ask of you.”

The suggestion threw him off for a moment, apparent by the frown on his face. “You’re not going to make me clean your apartment, are you?”

“Lose and find out.”

“How many handicaps do you need?”

“No knockouts.”

Obito feigned a hurt look, placing his hand over his heart with a pout that was absolutely adorable. “I would never.” 

Laughing, Kakashi accepted the gloves that Obito threw to him from his workout bag next to the opening of the cage. “Not on purpose maybe.”

His opponent grinned at him but offered no retort. He set his phone to a five minute and ten second countdown then set it just outside the gate, pressing the go button then running back to Kakashi. “Good luck.” He offered, bumping fists then stepping back.

Kakashi wasn’t sure where to start first; he knew the basics of self-defense, but he hadn’t been trained in multiple techniques like Obito had. Plus it was hard to concentrate with Obito giving him such an intense look. Here he was in Obito’s element, and even with Obito being on pure defense, it was going to be a difficult fight.

Luckily he didn’t have to wait long as Obito took a quick step toward him, lightly smacking him on the side. “One hit.”

Kakashi moved to counter, but Obito had already sidestepped out of range. Really? So that’s how he wanted to play this. Not letting Obito retreat far, Kakashi followed after him with his own attacks. Just like with Guy, his throws were deflected or dodged. Obito actually caught one then used a free hand to smack Kakashi on the stomach this time, counting it as a second hit.

“You’re just toying with me.” Kakashi accused, making another attempt to chase after him.

Obito smirked at him, “Then allow me to make this easier.” He actually turned his back on Kakashi and lifted his arms up in mock surrender. “Come at me, bro.”

Oh, he needed to go down for this. Kakashi still had some pride in him. “You idiot, turn back around.”

Obito chuckled, doing as asked but still having his arms raised. Kakashi moved in to tackle him, feeling a sense of nostalgia from their wrestling fits as kids, and was intercepted halfway. Obito responded to his charge with his own, slipping his arms around Kakashi’s waist and dragging them both to the ground with Kakashi landing flat on his back. Then it really was like their childhood, all those times they had bickered over useless things that had them fighting to get control of the other. 

Knowing that Obito wasn’t taking the fight seriously, Kakashi opted for the element of surprise with something that often allowed him to win as a kid: Obito was ticklish. It didn’t take him long to find a spot on his side, just below his ribs, before Obito realized what he intended. When he did, he attempted to retreat quickly only for Kakashi to grab him and use the forward momentum to flip them both.

It wasn’t even a real fight anymore with Obito laughing and trying to keep Kakashi away from him at the same time. If only Kakashi could get ahold of Obito’s arms, but the man was adamant about not giving away the upper hand even when his back was on the ground. 

“What are you two doing?”

Both of them froze, Obito’s hands stopping Kakashi from coming after him and Kakashi’s entire body keeping him from escaping. Obito, still grinning, turned his head to see Zetsu staring at him from the other side of the fence. 

“Wrestling.” Obito said in good spirits. He released Kakashi’s arms long enough to brace himself against the floor and flip them both again with a strength he had been holding back. Rather than remain on top this time, Obito jumped up and put space between them. “Weren’t you going to the indoor pool?”

Zetsu shook his head, walking up to the fence and drawing Obito’s attention to him in the process. “Turns out they’re doing repairs today to one of the filters, so I went on a short run instead.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“No kidding. Speaking of unfortunate, who stuck Rin with that loud guy from earlier?”

Obito was about to answer when his legs were kicked from under him and he nearly face planted on the floor. He managed to bring his arms up to catch himself, but just as he stopped the momentum to the ground, Kakashi jumped on his back and pinned him the rest of the way down. Being attacked from behind was rather difficult to defend against since his entire body was pinned, and he didn’t have the chance to twist free as Kakashi was working on restraining his arms already. 

“Did you forget we had a bet?” Kakashi asked, securing his victory when Obito couldn’t turn around. Turns out his self-defense classes were useful after all. His dad had been right about them coming in handy. 

Obito tried to wiggle free a few more times before laying his head on the floor in defeat. “Get off me. You’re heavy.” He muttered as his phone alarm started going off in the distance.

Zetsu openly began laughing at them. “Oh my God, did you just lose? Seriously? This is brilliant. Who gets distracted in the middle of a fight?!”

“Shut up,” responded the embarrassed Uchiha. His shame continued when Zetsu had his phone out in record time and snapped a photo. Obito’s eyes widened. “You did not just do that.”

“Wait till Nagato sees this.”

The struggling that commenced after was nearly enough to send Kakashi falling off of him. “Oh hell no. Get off me, Kakashi, I’m going to kill him.”

Kakashi’s grip on his wrists tightened. “Send it to me too, Zetsu.”

The betrayed glare he received was answered with a victorious smile. 

Zetsu continued basking in Obito’s defeat for a moment longer, ensuring that the photo was sent to very specific parties, then made his way over to turn off Obito’s alarm. “This is amazing. It’s going to be my new phone background.”

“You’re dead to me. The both of you.” Obito threatened but went happily ignored as Kakashi finally released him and stood, offering his hand. Obito flipped to his back and took it, regardless of the fact he was still upset with them both. 

Kakashi patted him lightly on the back. “No worries, Obito, there’s always next time.”

Obito responded with grabbing Kakashi around the waist and tackling him to the ground again. This time he was in full fight mode, finding all the mistakes in Kakashi’s guard until he had him pinned. “Next time,” he supplied, “You won’t even reach one minute.”

“Show off.” Came the disgruntled voice under him. 

The corner of his lip finally curled up and he sat back on Kakashi’s stomach, releasing his arms. “How did you know I was ticklish?”

Kakashi debated telling him it was a lucky guess. Generally Obito, save for the one time in the hotel, refrained from asking him anything about their shared past. He waited for the other man to realize his mistake, to say to disregard the question, but instead Obito waited for the answer. So Kakashi gave it. “Because you’ve always been ever since we were kids.”

“Really.” Obito said vaguely, not so much as a question. “Are you?”

“Thankfully, no. Otherwise you might have actually won some of the wrestling matches we had.”

The amused look he gave was full of disbelief. “I must have won some at least.”

“Oh no, you lost every time. I’m surprised you can fight as well as you do now considering you used to completely suck.”

“You jerk, you probably wouldn’t tell me even if I did.”

A click of a phone distracted them and now, with reversed roles from last time, they both turned again to see Zetsu with his phone raised towards them. He noticed and quickly dropped it from view. “Don’t mind me. Kisame was just wondering what you two were doing.”

Obito half glanced down at Kakashi. “Can I kill him now?”

“Be my guest.”

“Oh, shit.” Zetsu turned quickly and ran with Obito jumping the fencing around the ring to go after him. Despite their earlier race, Obito was gaining quickly and it wasn’t long at all before Zetsu’s surprised yell echoed down the hall. Kakashi made a mental note not to run from a motivated Uchiha and removed himself from the floor. He placed the borrowed gloves on top of Obito’s bag and after one last glance down the hall his two friends had vanished down, he left to go rescue Rin from her fate. 

 

“Are you pouting?”

Obito groaned at Kakashi who sat across from him at the local diner. When he lost his bet, he assumed that Kakashi would make him do something stupid like clean his apartment or act like a moron in public. It was something his friends would have done, after all. What he didn’t expect was for Kakashi demand that they go out to lunch together. That wasn’t something that he needed to win a bet to do.

“Why is it you all seem to think I pout all the time?” Obito countered. “Do I look that depressing?”

His friend only smiled at him, resting his head in his hand as he inspected the menu. “You get this sort of dejected look like a kid just lost their favorite toy. Come on, Obito, I thought going out to lunch would be a good idea.”

“Am I at least treating?”

“Do you want to?”

Obito groaned again and finished burying his face into his arms. Did Kakashi even understand what a bet was? The fact that it was only supposed to be beneficial to one party? All this was doing was making Obito guilty for losing. Next time he was going to make sure Kakashi didn’t get the upper hand. 

At the time, he had been completely absorbed in the fact that he had been challenged by someone who had no hope of beating him in a real match. He had been distracted and toying with his opponent, not taking to thought that Kakashi might actually know a thing or two about fighting. He should have known better. No, he shouldn’t have underestimated an opponent.

“Yes.” He answered, lifting his head at last. “I’ll treat. Why did you want to come here anyway? There are plenty of Chinese food locations on our campus.”

Kakashi flipped the page, glancing over their lunch menus. “It’s less crowded to come to an actual restaurant during the day. Plus we missed lunch hour so it’s even better.”

Typical college student schedule. Their hours were changing ever few months and they learned to have meals at weird times. 

Their waitress came by with their drinks and took their orders a few minutes later. Obito kept his mostly protein since he spent most of the morning at the gym even after Kakashi and Rin left while Kakashi got a mostly veggie meal. 

“We should have asked if anyone else wanted to come along.” Obito said absently, looking around the restaurant. It was emptier than he was used to seeing. Their friends could easily added some life to this place. 

“Actually, this is good, I just wanted to talk with you.”

Obito felt his heart jump but forced himself not to get worked up for beginning to suspect Kakashi trying to take him on a date. What were the odds that this is what that was, and he was cleverly trying to get Obito to pay for it? Smooth talker indeed.

“About?” 

Kakashi got suddenly serious which began confirming Obito’s thought process only that much more. “So those fifteen minutes that you do whatever I ask of you… I want to you to tell me the absolute truth, and whatever you say I will believe you completely and not bother you about it again. Deal?”

Oh no, was he about to ask him out? Obito suddenly felt like excusing himself, to avoid that at all costs. He wasn’t sure he knew what to say in that situation or that he could even give an answer. Was Kakashi moving now because he heard about Nagato and Rin? 

“Sure.” Crap, crap, crap. Maybe he should fake a phone call.

Kakashi hesitated, freaking Obito out more, then maintained all eye contact as he asked, “What do you know about how Mizuki ended up in the hospital?”

Obito wasn’t sure what fell first: his heart, his stomach, or his jaw. “Excuse me?”

The man across from him frowned slightly. “What do you know about how Mizuki ended up in the hospital?”

“I heard that.” Obito snapped more than he meant to. “Why do you want to know?”

“I want to hear from you that you had nothing to do with it.”

It felt like the air around them had just gone cold as neither one of them said anything. Obito felt a little betrayed; so that was why Kakashi had challenged him that morning. There was nothing friendly in any of this at all. He had been an idiot to think it was anything, and that was mostly his fault for letting his mind run. But he never expected this from Kakashi. Rin maybe since she was there, but not the man before him. Since when did Kakashi suspect them anyway?

Obito leaned away, contemplating what to say. “So that’s what this is about then?”

“Rin was concerned about you and the others.”

“I’m touched.”

“She didn’t want anyone to get caught up in her problems and she was worried that you guys might have been involved.”

“How nice of her.”

Kakashi frowned at his open hostility. “What’s with you?”

Obito clenched his teeth to avoid saying something rude like how it was none of their business and that it wasn’t a problem that they should be concerned about. Mizuki was no longer a problem, so why were these two hunting down his attackers like they were friends? He ran his hand through his hair, mentally telling himself to chill before he let his frustrations get the better of him. “Let’s say hypothetically I did have something to do with it. What would you do then, Kakashi? Turn me in? Stop being my friend? Lecture me on the importance of not getting in fights? Why is this so important to you?”

“Well first I would want to know why I was left in the dark. Then I would want to know why you didn’t leave him in a place that would be found easily.”

Left in the dark? It was precisely because Obito knew he would act like this that he didn’t mention anything. If anything he did Kakashi a favor by keeping him uninvolved.

When he didn’t respond, Kakashi prompted him again. “I’ve answered your questions. You still haven’t answered mine.”

“That’s because your question is irrelevant to anything actually important.”

“Obito-.” He cut of at the glare Obito gave him. It wasn’t like the typical annoyed ones that he shared with his friends when they all joked with each other or even one that he gave his homework. He was legitimately pissed off which confirmed it: he was involved. “Why?”

“Why?” Obito laughed darkly. “Do you believe me to be some sort of saint, Kakashi? Are you under the impression that I’m some sort of peaceful bystander? Our very first meeting I wanted to beat the hell out of you and had we not been at my job, I probably would have. But to answer your question since you’re insistent on knowing, yes, I know exactly what happened to Mizuki. I’m the one that put him in that state.”

He leaned forward, half resting on the table with a dominating aura. Kakashi remained still, but he couldn’t help but feel a chill. It was like the atmosphere around Obito had changed from bright to something much darker. He had been prepared to find out that Obito had been the main aggressor, but there wasn’t even a hint of remorse. Obito was owning up to it completely. 

“Let’s answer your second question with another question, shall we? Have you seen any of the messages that pervert left on Rin’s phone? Her email? How many times we caught him following her home? How often he followed her in her classes?”

Slowly, Kakashi shook his head no.

Obito’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I did thanks to Konan, so let me sum up it up for you. He was obsessed. A few of us decided to start walking with Rin so he got the picture that Rin wasn’t dealing with this alone while at the same time we tried to convince her that she needed a restraining order. But Rin is too damn nice for her own good. When he showed up at the formal, I decided that I had just about enough of him.”

“You could have called the cops.” 

“Cops won’t do anything unless charges are pressed, and I don’t have the greatest experience with them being there for me anyway.” A shot fired at his uncle no doubt. “I learned long ago to solve my own problems, but it was only when I grew close to people in Chikyū that I learned how to protect others. I decided to form a group that had a single goal of taking out any problem that came our way. Hidan, Zetsu, Sasori, Nagato, Kisame, and myself. No one else is involved, and no one else asks any questions.” Obito paused to let the final sentence sink in before continuing, “When I pulled Mizuki from the building, I took him out back and I gave him a choice. Either he was going to leave Rin alone, or I was going to ensure that any time he was in her presence something was going to get broken. He simply had the nerve to talk back to me.”

And Kakashi had seen the result. He had been so bloody that Kakashi wasn’t even sure he would be recognizable if someone held a picture up to him. His arm had been dislocated, but not broken. He could only imagine what had been.

“How did you move him?” 

“Hidan and Sasori. They came to picked him up and relocated him to a public place.”

“But he wasn’t.” Kakashi argued, trying to appear calm about it. He didn’t want to show Obito just how much this was bothering him. “I only happened upon him by chance. What if I hadn’t been there?”

Obito scoffed at his concern. “Didn’t you find it strange that Sasori was nearby when he was? They had no intention of leaving him alone long. Had no one shown up, they would have sent an anonymous tip.”

“So that’s it? You thought of everything then?”

Obito held up his hand to show all five fingers. “One: every decision we make is something all six of us unanimously agree on. It was only a matter of time before one of us went off on Mizuki. Two: The guilt of the target confirmed. We don’t go after just anyone, only those who have truly wronged one of us. Three: finish it the first time so we don’t have a repeat of the problem. This is why he’s in the hospital instead of simply supporting a black eye. Four: we are each other’s alibis. No matter what, we will be there for each other so no one person has to take the fall. And finally five: don’t talk about it. Once a problem is solved, there’s no need to revisit it which is exactly what you’re making me do now.”

“Problem?” Kakashi asked. “Obito, you hospitalized someone. You and the others can get in a lot of trouble for this if someone were to find out. You should have come to me. I would have been able to convince Rin to go through with a restraining order.”

“And Mizuki?” Obito challenged. “Kakashi, had you seen the messages he left, you wouldn’t have said that. You would be helping me dig his grave instead of lecturing me on restraint.”

“I’m not lecturing you. I’m trying to understand your reasoning.” Kakashi tried, hoping that he could get through to his friend. “Besides, what will you do if Mizuki doesn’t give up? What if he gets out of the hospital and goes after Rin?”

Obito didn’t even hesitate. “He knows what is waiting for him if he tries.”

“Then there’s also the fact that he knows your face. All he needs is to identify you or look at security cameras.”

“You haven’t been listening, Kakashi. Nagato, Rin, and Shizune can all vouch for my presence. Plus, there were no cameras. I’m not an idiot, I looked. After being in a city where every damn person seems to know your uncle, you learn how to keep out of sight.”

Just then their waitress returned with their meals. Obito did a better job of pretending nothing was wrong, even smiling and thanking her before she left. But the silence that followed was antagonizing. Kakashi had prepared himself to learn the truth, but that didn’t make it any less difficult to handle. For the first time, he was forced to accept that the person before him wasn’t the same person he knew. The same name, the same face, but even when they got into fights he had never seen Obito go so far. What had Chikyū done to him as he grew up? What had he gone through to make him so okay with all of this?

“So now what, Kakashi?” Obito asked, breaking the silence. “What do you plan on doing with all your new information?”

Even he didn’t know. If he told Rin, she would only feel guilty for it. It would also mean betraying Obito’s trust – granted Kakashi forced him to admit to it, but the way he had done it was childish. If Obito had lied, it would have marked him as a bad friend. He should have just asked him honestly. No wonder Obito was so upset about this. 

Kakashi sighed, “Nothing.”

It couldn’t have been clearer that Obito didn’t believe him. He didn’t say it aloud, but there was distance between them that hadn’t been there before. 

“You’re right.” He added, pushing the food around on his plate. “I should have asked, or at the least not in the way I did. You really don’t have to worry, I won’t bring it up to anyone.”

“And how do you intend to make me believe you?” 

“Ask nicely?”

A fork entering his vision and stealing a piece of broccoli caused him to look up at Obito. He didn’t look angry anymore, a passiveness replacing it as he ate the food. When he saw Kakashi looking at him, he offered a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “How about you make me dinner?”

“Really? That’s it? Food?”

“Well, either that or you find every bit of photo evidence that Zetsu shared this morning and delete it.”

Kakashi smothered a laugh behind his hand, unable to stop from gazing at Obito affectionately. “But it’s such a good picture.”

“Then consider yourself on my kill list on the battle of blackmail. Sleep with one eye open.”

“Do you plan on being in my bedroom any time soon, Obito?”

He watched in great amusement as Obito nearly choked on a piece of food he had just swallowed. Obito quickly downed half his drink, rubbing tears from his eyes before coughing out, “Fuck off.”

“No need to get worked up.” Kakashi laughed, unable to stop from picking fun. “Or were you thinking of something inappropriate? I feel the need to remind you that you’ve still got a few minutes left where you still have to tell me the truth.”

Obito bowed his head, stabbing his food with new vigor. “Change the subject.”

“Don’t you enjoy these conversations with me?” Kakashi pressed, now making it his turn to steal food from Obito’s plate. The other man still didn’t look up. “Come on, Obito, what makes it so difficult to joke with me about this than it would to joke with Zetsu or Kisame?”

“I…” Obito shifted in his seat, ransacking his mind for the correct response. “You’re different.”

He was? “How so?”

“Shut up or change subject, Kakashi.” He demanded, stabbing a piece of Sweet and Sour chicken. 

“That seems to be your fallback every time you get em-.” A piece of chicken smacked his cheek, slipping off slowly and leaving a trail of red in its wake. Kakashi stopped talking, completely dumbfounded that Obito actually just catapulted food at him. “What are you, a child?”

He was answered with a smirk and Obito taking another bite of food with a shrug. 

“I can’t believe you just did that.”

“And I can’t believe you set up everything this morning just to quiz me one someone who doesn’t matter. And as of now,” Obito held his phone up to show the time, “You can no longer rely on my honesty.”

Kakashi sighed wistfully in acknowledgement. It was a shame. “Want to make another bet?”

“I think we’ve done enough of that today, don’t you think?”

“Are you mad with me?”

Obito glanced off to the side, making an obvious play at thinking about his answer. “You did this all for Rin, right?” Kakashi nodded feebly at him and he continued, “Then I’ll forgive you this once.”

Suddenly the room didn’t feel as cold anymore and Kakashi felt a few ounces lighter. “Then-?”

“But of course I’m mad with you, you idiot. Next time you want to find something out, don’t resort to low methods. You realize now I have to tell the others and they’re going to throw a fit at me for telling you anything.”

Kakashi was half tempted to point out that beating a man half to death was also a low method, but stopped himself. He couldn’t condone the actions, he wouldn’t, but he had been wrong about them not following up with taking care of Mizuki. Obito said that Sasori wasn’t going to leave him there long, and Kakashi believed him. It didn’t make him feel any better about the situation, but at least he knew now. He got what he wanted, but what he wanted now was for this to not come between them. How selfish was that? He should be glad that Obito wasn’t walking out on him right now and taking it a lot better than Kakashi deserved. 

“I’m sorry.” He interrupted Obito’s rant about how annoying it was going to be dealing with the others, hoping that Obito could see that he really meant it and was no longer trying to pick fun. “Really, I should have just come to you first.”

Obito paused his complaints and leveled his fork at the man across him. “You really want me to throw more food at you, don’t you?”

“I’m serious, Obito.”

“As am I. I’m entitled to be upset at you right now; you basically forced me to talk about an issue that you believed I resolved poorly. Don’t give me that look, it’s real obvious you didn’t approve the minute I told you. But look, you’ve also got every reason to be annoyed with me. As you said, I kept you in the dark and had you not done what you did, there was a good chance I would have left you there. So instead of making this a big deal, I’m letting it go.”

“That’s… rather mature of you.” Kakashi observed. “No holding a grudge or promising to get back at me?”

“Do you really think I’m the type of person to get even on every little thing?”

“You’re handling this a lot better than I thought you would.”

Obito scoffed at him. “And you’re handling this exactly like I imagined you would. Have you always been like this, Kakashi? Always concerning yourself over others? I swear it’s like every time I turn around, you’re trying to make someone happy. You tried to ease my nerves at the competition, you’re the one that finally convinced Nagato to say something to Rin, and now you’re here on Rin’s behalf. When is the last time you did something for you?”

He hadn’t thought of it before. Kakashi always believed he was the one that wasn’t doing enough for others. After all, the man across from him was willing to protect Rin despite the consequences, and the others were always looking for new ways to hang out or aid each other. 

“I bought a new book the other day.” Kakashi tried, earning a frown in response. “Well, Obito, what do you suggest I do?”

“Go find yourself a girlfriend. Or boyfriend. I still haven’t quite figured out your type.”

Really, Obito? He hadn’t figured it out?

But the Uchiha continued, “It can’t be that hard to find someone. Konan, Nagato, and Rin did and Nagato is deathly shy when it comes to girls. Let someone else show some concern over you for once or take you out. You’re going to isolate yourself by staying in your apartment all the time with your books and only going out to work or when one of us initiate a hangout.”

“You mean like the time you offered to host my birthday so that I could enjoy it without worrying over others? Or when you took me and Yūgao out for dinner after showing us the city you grew up in? Or even now when you offered to pay for my food?”

Obito shuffled nervously and glanced away, apparently not having thought of that. “This isn’t about me.”

Kakashi wanted to reach across the table and shake him until Obito could see what he was trying to imply. There was no way, _no way_ that he couldn’t see what was going on between them. Why was he ignoring and avoiding it? “Then let’s make it about you. Why haven’t you found someone yet, Obito? You’re attractive, you’re intelligent, and you make others laugh whoever you go. You're incredibly loyal and protective as shown with Rin's stalker problem. There are plenty of people who would jump at the chance at being with you, and yet you’re still single. Why is that?”

Obito placed his chin in his hand and offered a bored sigh. “Not interested, I guess.”

“Really? No one as caught your eye yet?” 

He saw Obito stiffen as he took deep breath. “No.”

Kakashi was glad Obito’s attention wasn’t on him so that he couldn’t see the hurt that hit him. It felt like his chest had clenched to the point he lost his breath. Was this Obito’s answer to him? That he wasn’t interested in pursuing anything other than friendship between them? Not even slightly willing to entertain the idea of them together at all?

Their waitress took that moment to come back with their check. Obito covered the bill, but Kakashi felt suddenly ill. The only thing he could think about was wanting to get out and do something, anything, to keep his mind off the hurt he felt. But he wasn’t going to run and show just how much that silent rejection hurt. There was no telling if Obito meant it intentionally for him or just in general rejecting the idea of finding a significant other, though Kakashi was finding it hard to be hopeful right now. Still, he did his best to keep up appearances in front of Obito, changing the subject to literally anything else. 

They didn’t stay long after the check came back. They walked out together as they usually would, both of them having work later that afternoon that they had to go to, but as soon as Kakashi was back in his car he let his head fall into his hands with a heavy sigh. This was so not the way he should have handled any of this. How much of an idiot could he be? Cornering Obito about Mizuki then being upset at him for showing no interest in dating at all. Honestly, what had he expected? For Obito to openly say he liked him and fall back into his arms as he had when they were younger?

Kakashi needed to stop doing this. Comparing the current Obito to the past one wasn’t fair to either of them. Thinking they would be the same was stupid, even Kakashi had changed from how he used to be. No longer was he the arrogant little kid who thought others beneath him or the one always trying to take charge. He couldn’t expect Obito to be the cheery little idiot everyone had known him to be.

He needed to start seeing Obito for who he was. Still the loveable goof around his friends, but a much more hardened person. A man who would not tolerate other people’s bullshit, who was more guarded. If anything their personalities had switched as they grew up. 

How was he going to progress from here? If he tried to push Obito now, he might retaliate or pull away. That was the last thing Kakashi wanted after just having him back in Kasai. They had been together for roughly seven months now, why should he push things now?

No, he would back off for now. Let things cool off and figure out where to go from here. At least for now.


	12. Another Day

“Sorry, Yamato, he isn’t here.”

The dark haired man sighed. This was the last place he could think of to find Obito, it was like that damned Uchiha had just upped and vanished. The other day Kakashi had come home in the most dejected spirits Yamato had ever seen him in before, even more so than when he accidentally ruined one of Kakashi’s Icha Icha novels. Naturally the first thing he thought it was had been something to do with family so he had asked Kakashi about the health of his father and dogs at home. Luckily they were fine and Yamato didn’t have to feel bad for denying Kakashi about letting his dogs stay at the apartment.

The only other thing he could think of was Obito. Those two would hang out often, and the past few days Kakashi had hardly left his room for anything other than work or school. He sat in the living with Yamato yesterday with his novels, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Kakashi wasn’t even reading it.

“Do you have any idea where he is?”

Itachi leaned against the doorframe of his apartment, crossing his arms and running his mind through all the locations in Kasai. “You’ve tried his work?”

“Yes, and around campus before I came home and then everyone’s apartments. He hasn’t answered my phone call either. He doesn’t usually do this.”

“Actually, he does. It’s not very often, but sometimes he breaks off from us to do his own thing. I really wouldn’t worry about this too much, Yamato. If he doesn’t answer you by tonight, he will tomorrow.”

Yamato frowned, trying to figure out why Obito would do such a thing. Surely if he didn’t want to hang out with anyone, he could have simply said so. But cutting everyone completely off?

“Is he okay?”

“He’s probably working some stress off. That is, unless you have a reason to be concerned about him.”

Nothing except Kakashi’s moping attitude and the gloomy atmosphere of his apartment. Yamato shook his head. “No, it’s nothing really. I’ll just wait for him to call me back then.”

Itachi’s gaze turned calculating, “Do you need help with something?”

“Just had a question for him, but it’s not important.” He excused himself before Itachi could question him and made his way to the parking deck. He didn’t want it to get back to Kakashi that he was trying to figure out his problems. It wouldn’t go well. As much as he cared for Kakashi as one of his dearest friends, Kakashi had never been the sort of person to share his issues. If Yamato was going to figure anything out, it was going to be done on his own.

The weather hadn’t been as bad lately, but everyone on the roads were driving slower than Yamato’s grandfather. Not that he particularly minded, it allowed him to examine the streets for any signs of Obito. He doubted the older man had left the city, and if he wasn’t at home or on campus then he had to be somewhere around the city. Yamato doubted he would find him easily, but at the very least he could get an idea of where to look next. 

No one in their group was fond of eating out alone, so restaurants could be disregarded. Obito also had no tolerance for crowds so supercenters like WalMart or Target were passed over. He could have gone to the library, if not for the books then for some place quiet, or the local gym. Then again, on a weekend at this time it was probably filled with people still trying to stick to New Year’s promises. 

“Where did you go?” Yamato sighed, turning into an old neighborhood so he could find a driveway to turn around it. Maybe he should go back and check the park. Yamato had been avoiding it since he learned that Kakashi found someone a person severely beaten there, but Obito had no need to fear some sort of mugger. The man was incredibly built and not even Yamato would willingly go up against him.

He came up on a cul-de-sac with the intention of looping around, but stopped at the stop sign before he turned in. Just a few houses in, he found the person he was looking for. Obito was talking to a woman he didn’t recognize.

Why was he here? Yamato didn’t know anyone who lived in this neighborhood, and judging from the appearance of the woman Obito was talking to, they were not family members. At some point, a little girl ran up to them with pink hair, gazing up at him shyly and extending a red book to him. Obito actually hesitated before going on one knee and accepting it. The girl hid behind her mom, but still seemed intent on joining the conversation. 

A moment later a boy exited the house and climbed up onto Obito’s back. The older Uchiha wiggled about, getting his arms under the boys legs, before standing up once more and speaking more to the woman.

If Yamato was correct, the boy was Obito’s younger cousin and Itachi’s little brother. He hadn’t thought of Obito playing babysitter before, much less hanging out with family given that his relationship with his uncle was a known taboo topic, but the way he seemed amused by Sasuke’s actions was almost endearing. As they turned away from the house with a friendly wave, Yamato quickly drove on to avoid being noticed. 

He parked at a nearby food store then backtracked on foot to find where the two cousins had gone. He found them a few houses down, and thankfully was able to keep just enough away while the wind carried their voices back.

Sasuke seemed to be in the middle of a long winded story, “…but then Naruto came in and broke the fort. I think Sakura was going to murder him, but instead she tried to move into my fort. I don’t see why, it wouldn’t have taken long to fix hers.”

Obito actually laughed. “Did you let her in yours?”

“No, I initiated war on Naruto.”

“That’s not nice,” Obito tsk-ed him. “I don’t think Mrs. Haruno will appreciate her living room in shambles.” Sasuke muttered something that Yamato couldn’t hear and Obito shook his head. “No, I’m not going to teach you how to fight. That’s for self-defense only, not using against your friends.”

“But you fight against that green guy all the time!”

“Spar, Sasuke, we’re training. That’s different. Can you imagine how your mother would react if I taught you how to hit someone? You though Sakura might murder Naruto, but your mother would obliterate me.”

Sasuke slouched against him, dejected. “You could teach me other stuff… oh, by the way, where is mother? I thought she was going to pick me up.”

Obito turned slightly. “What, I’m not good enough for you?”

“You are!” Sasuke quickly assured him, much to the older Uchiha’s amusement. “I just didn’t expect to see you. I thought you would be busy. What are you doing here instead?”

“Don’t ever let someone tell you that you’re not a bright kid.” Obito responded. 

Yamato quickly ducked behind a bush as Obito and Sasuke turned down a different neighborhood. He made note of the street signs so he wouldn’t get lost in the labyrinth of houses and road before continuing on. 

“I actually came to speak to your parents. There’s a few things I wanted to know.”

“Like what?” Sasuke prompted. 

Obito wiggled the book he held in his hands that the girl with pink hair had given him. “Secrets.”

“What kind of secrets?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t read them yet.”

Sasuke frowned at his cousin. “Then had did you know there were secrets to begin with? Can I read it?”

“I need to read it first to make sure it’s child appropriate.”

“I’m not a child!”

“No, but the person who wrote this was. Maybe another time, Sasuke.”

“That’s not Sakura’s diary, is that? That would be really messed up, Obito.”

Watching the older cousin sputter in denial and grossed out horror was an enjoyment Yamato had yet to experience at the Uchiha’s expense. It was followed up with threats to drop the boy which only caused him to hold on tighter. To anyone it might look like Obito was being strangled by the tight clinging, but Yamato luckily knew better. He had seen Obito’s banter with their friends enough to recognize when the man was seriously struggling or not. 

The two of them continued their friendly squabbling until they reached a house a few blocks down, clearly a much more high class neighborhood. The one the two boys went into was a two story, dark red brick house with a front porch that extended into a sun room. Somehow Yamato could imagine them having an in ground pool in the backyard as well. It wasn’t as huge as Kakuzu’s house was, but the perfectly manicured lawn and fancy cars out front screamed privileged. No wonder Itachi could afford to switch schools so easily. Yamato figured Obito ran into money with his parents insurance, but now he knew where Itachi’s funds came from. The Uchihas must have their own small fortunes. Yamato could only imagine what it was like to grow up in such a family.

He hesitated at the corner of the neighborhood, entertaining the idea of waiting for Obito to come out or introducing himself to Itachi’s family. Bu what excuse would he have of being there in the first place? Stalking friends?

Yamato shook his head at himself and moved to go back to his car. Obito seemed to be doing fine, and he was with family right now. Rather than interrupt, Yamato would just meet up with him tomorrow. He hadn’t appeared as dejected as Kakashi had been, so it was probably nothing after all. Kakashi might have just gotten a bad grade on a test and was isolating himself to study.

As he neared his car, his phone went off and he brought it out to see a familiar face lighting up his screen. He hit the green button and brought it up to his ear with a frown. “Since when did your ringtone become Justin Timberlake’s ‘Sexy Back’ song?”

“How am I supposed to know? I didn’t set it. Anyway, why did you call earlier?”

“It’s nothing that can’t wait till later if you’re busy.”

“Well clearly it was since you were in my neighborhood a few minutes later. Just a word of advice, Yamato, if you’re going to hide in a bush you should probably wear colors that actually blend in.”

Yamato glanced down at his faded orange shirt and mentally slapped himself. Yeah, he was an idiot. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because watching you try to channel your inner James Bond was funny. Where are you parked, I’ll come meet you.”

“Aren’t you with family?”

“Uncle Fugaku just came home and for some reason he doesn’t like me. Can’t imagine why.”

What did Obito do to piss off all his uncles? Yamato gave him the name of the store he was at then hung up the phone, leaning against his car and waiting. 

It didn’t take longer than a few minutes for Obito to pull up in his truck in one of the free spots. He got out and pulled down the tailgate of his truck to sit on. He patted the spot next to him as an invite, pulling out his phone and checking messages.

Rather than sit, Yamato just exchanged leaning spots. “How’ve you been lately?” 

Obito raised an eyebrow curiously his direction before returning to his phone. “Fine, I guess. Nothing much going on. Why?”

“Kakashi’s been depressed lately. I may be his roommate, but you usually see him the most. I figured you might have an idea as to why.”

Obito scrolled through a few messages, reading something that Yamato couldn’t quite see. “Have you asked him?”

“I tried, but he just brushed me off saying that there was no reason for me to worry.”

“Then it’s probably nothing. I don’t know why he’s been in a mood, but you’ve known him longer than me. If he refuses to talk to you, I doubt he would tell me anything.” 

Yamato didn’t believe that for a moment. He may have known Kakashi longer, but Obito knew him better. They connected more quickly than he had seen Kakashi connect to anyone else. “So you have no idea at all?”

Obito lowered his phone, putting it in lock mode and sighing. “Maybe finding that guy in the park shook him up. Or something happened with school. Honestly, I’ve got no idea, but I doubt it’s something to worry about. If it was bad, he knows he can go to you or any one of us.”

“Yeah,” Yamato agreed, finally giving into the fact he might have been overthinking things. “So what are you doing all the way out here? I only found you by chance trying to turn around.”

The corners of Obito’s lips played up. “You were looking for me?”

“Not super intently,” he quickly assured him. “Just wanted to see if I could run into you since your phone was off.”

The Uchiha smirked at him, “And then you followed me.”

“Well, it’s not every day I get to see a wild Obito in his natural habitat.”

He laughed at that, finding it an acceptable excuse for Yamato’s strange behavior. Scary that if he accepted that so easily, it begged the question of what other strange things he was used to. Yamato could just imagine the things Kisame or Zetsu might try and pull on him. “I just came to talk to my aunt about a few things. Needed a break from the college scene, and she asked me to pick Sasuke up before it got too late. Plus, I’ve been trying to get closer to family since I moved back. I didn’t get that opportunity back in the city since most of my family is here.”

“Do all your uncles hate you?”

“Seems like it most days. My Uncle Madara and I just have conflicting personalities, but we tolerate each other or the most part. I’d still visit him if he needed me, but leisurely visits are impossible unless you want one of us to kill the other. In fact, he’s invited me to attend a formal party with him tomorrow since he’s getting some award. I was actually going to head to the airport after this. My Uncle Fugaku, on the other hand, acts like I killed his firstborn child or something. I suspect he blames me for making Itachi go to Iwa University instead of Konoha. Aunt Mikoto doesn’t seem to mind all that much.”

“And your other family members?”

“They’re more like distant friends. For being family, I’m not close with a lot of them like Itachi or Sasuke are. That’s probably because I grew up away from them and Uncle Madara doesn’t like attending reunions. He thinks they’re a waste of time.”

Yamato remembered his adopted family and all their efforts to make him feel wanted. He couldn’t think of a moment in his life where he hadn’t been in touch with his adoptive siblings or at some family event. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you at the next family gathering. You’re going, right?”

“You’re kidding, right? My family aren’t all like me and Itachi or Sasuke. I’d rather jump into a frozen lake. Madara was sparing me from losing brain cells by keeping me from those people. You’re welcome to go in my place though.”

“I have enough Uchihas in my life, thanks.” Yamato answered with a laugh. “But what about your Uncle’s formal? Are you at least going to that?”

“Yeah, I already told him I would. It’s a good excuse for me to not meet Konan’s boyfriend.”

Yamato gasped at him. “You still haven’t met him?” Even Yamato had run into them around school, and he seemed a decent enough guy. 

Obito suddenly became visibly annoyed. “She’s chalking him up to be the best thing since sliced bread and it’s aggravating, so I’ve been putting it off. I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s not like I won’t meet him when she brings him over to the apartment eventually.”

“Well that’s not very supportive. And after all the effort she went through to hook you up with people.”

Obito couldn’t have appeared more annoyed. “I wish she wouldn’t. I still need to figure things out on my own.”

“Like reading that book you got earlier?”

“Chill with your creepy vibes, Yamato.”

He laughed at the wariness he received. “You already knew I followed you, so picking up on conversation is a part of it. So what is the book anyways? Light reading?”

The Uchiha hesitated, making Yamato more curious. He had assumed it was a classic book like one of Stephen King’s novels, but the more Obito remained quiet the more he thought less of the idea. He was about to say never mind, not wanting to intrude if it was none of his business, when Obito jumped down from the truck and walked towards the driver’s seat. Shoot, had he brought up a bad subject?

Yet Obito returned a second later with the book in hand and offered it to Yamato. Taking it, he examined the cover. It was plain red leather bound, with no distinguishable features other than being worn down. So he opened it to the first page where “Property of Obito" was written in poor handwriting. It looked like a child wrote it. Flipping another page, he saw equally bad writing in it with dates written at the top going back years ago.

“You had a diary?” Yamato asked, more awed than condescending. He never saw Obito as the type to keep one.

“I guess so. I don’t remember writing in it.”

Yamato stopped flipping through pages of long and short entries and looked up. Obito had his eyes on the book like it was alien to him. “This is from before the time of your lost memories?"

He nodded slowly, pulling himself back onto the truck and glancing over Yamato’s shoulder. “The house you saw me pick my cousin up from was where I used to live as a kid. At least that’s what my aunt told me before she asked me to bring Sasuke home. I went to see if I could remember anything from it and got into a conversation with Mrs. Haruno. She and her husband really like to talk. They mentioned finding a book with my name on it hidden in a loose vent in my old room back when they were renovating and were going to throw it out when I showed up.” Obito gave a small laugh, “Sounds like I was meant to find it, doesn’t it? I figure it’ll make for a good read on the plane if I can decipher my own handwriting.”

It actually did, and part of him wondered if the book was something he should be holding. Hidden in a vent? “Why was it in a vent?”

“Dunno.” Obito admitted. “I haven’t read it.”

Yamato handed it back, feeling like it was some holy grail. He really wanted to see what it contained, but it wasn’t his business. Still, there was one more thing he was curious about. “Why didn’t you tell Kakashi or Rin? This sounds like the sort of thing they should be helping with.”

“Because I want to do this on my own, and I’d appreciate it if you don’t tell them.”

“But they’re your friends.”

“Which is exactly why I’m not telling them anything.” He set the book on his lap and sighed at Yamato’s almost lost puppy look. “Look, I already feel bad for not remembering them. The last thing I want is for them to realize what I’m doing when there’s a good chance it might not even work. This is just something I’ve got to do on my own, and I’m hoping this book can lead me, I don’t know, somewhere.”

Yamato still didn’t look convinced. “You should at least tell them after. Even if you don’t remember anything, they should know you tried.”

Obito shrugged. “We’ll see.”

 

“You’re an idiot. First class moron with no active brain cells and the intelligence of a newborn. Absolutely foolish.”

Kakashi groaned and covered his face with his book. “I know.”

“And now that you know, I want to know. What did you do?” 

He lowered the Icha Icha novel from his eyes, letting it muffle his half aggravated half exasperated voice. “I messed up.” He proceeded to then tell Nagato everything about a few days ago with Obito. When it got to the part with the restaurant and Kakashi forcing his crush to admit everything, Nagato literally face palmed and muttered something Kakashi didn’t catch. Insults to his intelligence again most likely. He then went on to tell of how he and Obito hadn’t hung out together since that time, and he was pretty sure he just got rejected before he had the chance to confess anything yet.

When he finished, Nagato stood up and took a deep breath and sighed. Then he leaned back, grabbed a pillow, and started beating Kakashi mercilessly with it. “You. Are. A. Complete. Idiot,” reiterating every word with a smack while Kakashi defended himself with his arms. “You had fifteen minutes of his complete and utter honesty, you could have found out _everything_ right there, and instead you interrogate him? What the actual fuck, Kakashi? What were you thinking?”

He waited until Kakashi lowered his arms then smacked him again over the head before returning to his seat. He didn’t seem as pissed as Obito had been, but still annoyed. Much like someone eating the last bit of ice cream without asking.

Ensuring that no more attacks would happen, Kakashi finally answered, “I was trying to find out for Rin.”

“But you didn’t tell her. I know you didn’t because she hasn’t asked me about it. So, again, I’ll ask you what you were thinking.”

“I guess I wanted to hear him say that he had no part in it. I wanted Rin’s suspicions to be wrong and that there was no way Obito could have done something like that.”

Nagato groaned, slouching in his chair slightly. “You really have no idea what the city was like. Man, there were so many fights and muggings there. Kasai is just so peaceful it’s like nothing ever happens here. I’m surprised Mizuki didn’t reach the front page of the local newspaper with how little excitement this place gets.” He repositioned himself more comfortably. “Still, I can’t believe Obito actually told you after the fit he made to keep you out of it.”

Kakashi’s eyebrows raised slightly. “Me?”

“Well,” he clarified, “Not just you, but Asuma and Yamato too. We were considering seeing if you guys wanted any part in this, but Obito was really intent on keeping you out. He said the six of us could handle it and there was no need to cause trouble in our group. Sasori and Zetsu were quick to agree, and Kisame, Hidan, and I had no complaints. Had we known you wanted in so bad, we might have made an exception.”

“I didn’t want _in_. I wanted to _know_. Now I kind of which I didn’t.”

“Too late for that.” Nagato replied with a laugh. “Welcome to the party.”

Kakashi simply wanted to sink into the chair and vanish. He had screwed up so badly, he wasn’t sure if there was a way out of this. It felt like Obito was actively avoiding him now along with Rin and, well, everyone. Even Konan mentioned not seeing him recently when he had gone over to see if Obito was home. “What do you suggest I do, Nagato?”

“Honest opinion or humorous one?”

“Whichever will make this better.”

Nagato’s humor flared before he could take the comment seriously. “Change your name and move. Like something out of a spy movie. No one will see it coming.”

Kakashi resisted the urge to mimic Nagato’s face palming action earlier and simply buried himself behind his book again. He could have gotten better advice from a fortune cookie. 

“Or move on.” Nagato added. “There’s really not much you can do.”

But he hated not talking to Obito and feeling like his friend was avoiding him. He hated knowing that it was his fault that he was in this situation and there was nothing he could do to go back and stop himself from being an idiot.

He hadn’t realized he had looked so miserable until Nagato’s hand found is way on his shoulder. “Look, I know it sucks but you’re not entirely at fault here. We all should have known that one of you would suspect it was us and we should have handled it better. I’m sure he’s not really mad at you, but he’s trying to figure out where to go from here. If anything, you should be happy about this.”

“Why would any of this make me happy?”

“Because that means you’ve probably been on his mind all day.”

Kakashi would have taken that in a good way had the circumstance been better. “He told me he wasn’t interested in anyone, Nagato. I doubt he’s thinking about me in any way good.”

“Obito’s a really good liar. He once convinced Hidan we had an entire week of school off and made him miss a test.” It had been a final test too and it caused Hidan to be in some serious trouble. Obito had felt so bad that he spent forever helping him study and even entertained the idea of breaking into the school to find the answer key. “I’m not saying get your hopes up, but don’t count yourself out yet. Even if he’s not looking now, he will eventually. Unless he told you he’s specifically not interested in you, then you’re not out of luck.”

Now that did make him feel a bit better. Maybe Nagato was better than a fortune cookie after all. 

There wasn’t much to do at this point other than wait. The more he mulled over it, the more likely he was to only get depressed or have anxiety over it. So he decided to take the advice of his friend and let it go. Sort of. As much as he could at that moment. Which really only amounted to a pathetic attempt at a deep breath that came out more like a groan instead of release of tension. 

Nagato simply shook his head and went back to his seat. Previously he had been setting up a paper for class, not being the most willing to write an essay on something he didn’t care about, and trying to find ways for Sasori to write it for him. “So speaking of guys, have you seen Konan’s newest heart throb?”

“Is he the orange haired guy she was with the other day?”

“Yeah, his name is Yahiko. I met him the other day, probably the same time you and Obito were having lunch, and he’s a really cool guy. He’s got all these plans for when he graduation, like wanting to go out and see the world. Apparently he’s been saving for forever and Konan wants to go with him.”

Kakashi frowned. “But they only just started dating.”

“True, but Konan seems to think he’s different from others. And man, they way they are around each other was like they had known each other for years. He’s got this personality that makes you want to be his friend. I can see why she’s so taken with him.”

“In love, Nagato?”

He tossed a pillow that Kakashi dodged. “Shut up, I’m not going to give up Rin for a guy I don’t know. Plus, I’m not interested in guys. But if I was, Yahiko would be pretty high on the list. Maybe when you make up with Obito you can convince him to meet Yahiko. He’s only against it now since Konan has had some sketch boyfriends in the past.”

“Did you get rid of them with your hidden group?”

Nagato shook his head. "Konan can take care of herself. She’d probably be super offended if we tried.”

True, she was more than likely to take the guy out quicker than anyone in their group. Kakashi admired her ‘take no shit’ attitude, but found it unnerving when that attention was turned on him. She could be very intimidating when not hiding behind an innocent smile. Yahiko was a special man indeed if he could handle that much of an independent woman. 

Suddenly Nagato sat up from his chair and looked at his phone.

“Sasori said yes?” Kakashi guessed.

“No, but he did just message me. He said he just saw a car crash and thought it was you when they pulled the guy out until he remembered you were with me.”

Kakashi’s phone lit up at the same time with a message from Sasori.

Sasori: _Hey, Kakashi, what kind of car does your dad drive?_  
Kakashi: _A blue Honda civic. Why?_  
Sasori: _You need to go to the hospital right now. I think your dad just got in a wreck._

Kakashi’s thumbs hovered over his phone, his mind going blank on how to respond. He was pretty sure his heart just stopped and his thoughts were screaming at him incoherently. He hardly even noticed Nagato take the device from his hands to read it before he was being pulled to his feet.

“It can’t be that bad, Kakashi. It might not even be him. Come on, I’ll drive.”

He nodded in response, finding his phone being returned to his hand while being gently led towards the door. By the time they were at Nagato’s car, his mind was racing with possibilities. What was going to happen if it was his dad? Kakashi didn’t have any other family after his mother walked out, and his mind wasn’t able to comprehend a life without his father in it. They were closer than most children with their parent since they only had each other for the longest time.

Nagato was still talking to him, but Kakashi couldn’t fathom the words. In fact, the only thing he could think of was ‘please be okay’ over and over. Now was generally the time his father was getting off of work and headed home, and rush hour was the prime time for accidents with people rushing to get home. All it took was for one dumb driver or bad decision to cause a wreck that could be fatal. 

Kakashi’s hands unconsciously pulled up his father’s contact information on his phone and hit the call button. No answer. That was fine, his father never talked on the phone when he drove anyway, much less check a text, but every ring sent his thoughts to a darker place. Please be okay. 

When they got to the hospital, Kakashi practically jumped from the car and ran inside, finding the closest secretary. She looked startled when he nearly ran into the desk in attempt to stop his forward momentum. 

“A man might have just been brought in, looks a lot like me. His name is Hatake Sakumo.”

“I’ll call to see if someone under that name has shown up.” She assured him.

He took a deep breath, clinging to the desk and praying to whatever was listening that the man brought in wasn’t his father. Nagato joined him with Sasori, who had followed the emergency vehicle, as the woman talked with someone on the other line. Every second she was on the phone made his heart wring tighter. Please be okay.

Finally she set it back down, turning to him with a worried look. “A man by that name has indeed been brought in and he’s currently in the middle of emergency surgery. Am I correct to assume you’re related to him?”

Kakashi actually stopped breathing, unable to do anything but nod. Sasori answered for him, “This is his son, Kakashi. Can you tell us his condition?”

“It’s currently unknown. I’m sorry. I’ll make them aware that you are here and as soon as I get news, I can let you know. In the meantime, there’s a waiting room just behind you where you can sit.”

Sasori thanked her while Nagato redirected Kakashi towards the seats. “It’ll be okay. If your father is any bit as stubborn as you, he’ll make it through just fine.”

Stubborn? Since when has he ever been stubborn? Kakashi was pathetically losing hope over Obito just a few minutes ago and prepared to give up if Nagato hadn’t given him a pep talk. He sat down on the end of one couch and stared down at nothing in particular. He knew his friends were trying to comfort him, but it really wasn’t helping. All he wanted was to see his father, to know that he was okay and going to make it through. When was the last time he had even spoken to his dad leisurely? Why hadn’t he called more? What were the last things said between them?

He tried to keep from entertaining the worst case scenario. Eventually the other two stopped trying to talk to him and talked amongst themselves. He couldn’t even concentrate on their conversation and closed his eyes. Please be okay. 

Within the next thirty minutes, more of their friends had shown up. In turn they all assured him that his father was going to be fine and that he would be awake in a recovery soon before he knew it. How much he wanted to believe their words. Konan had brought Yahiko with her, introducing him to the rest of their friends and all of them brainstorming what Kakashi’s dad would do to learn they were obnoxiously taking up the entire waiting room. They had never met Sakumo and all believed him to be just like Kakashi, but Kakashi wasn’t in the mood to correct them. His father was a much kinder extrovert who did more for others than himself.

“Where’s Zetsu and Obito?” Deidara asked, scanning the seats around them. Literally everyone else had shown up. 

Yamato answered first. “Obito might be on a plane right now. I ran into him earlier in the day and he said he was going to visit his uncle for event at work. He probably won’t get any texts before he lands. I’ve no idea about Zetsu.”

He wasn’t sure how, but Kakashi was pretty sure his heart fell even more at that. Even now he couldn’t see Obito? What else could go wrong today?

“Zetsu gets off work in an hour or so, and he’ll be here when he gets off.” Kisame supplied.

Rin joined them then, her arms crossed and a frown revealing her displeasure. “I tried to get them to let me down to see Mr. Sakumo since I’m a nursing student, but they said no.”

Nagato wrapped his arm around her and gave a warm squeeze. “At least you tried.”

She sighed and placed herself next to Kakashi, pulling his hand into hers and waiting until she had his attention. “It shouldn’t be much of a wait now, Kakashi. He’s going to come out of this laughing at how he was dodging a squirrel or something and have us all laughing at his bad jokes again just like he usually does.”

Kakashi tried to smile back but couldn’t find it in him. So instead, he just nodded and squeezed her hand back. Rin was the only one in the room besides himself who had met his father and knew just how important he was to Kakashi. 

Yet as the hours ticked by, Kakashi found himself growing number. He had taken to flipping his phone in his hand, trying to keep himself awake. The others had decided to get dinner in different groups, currently leaving him in the company of Rin, Deidara, Itachi, and Kisame. They had set up a card game on the floor, but Rin was slowly falling asleep. It had gotten terribly late before any of them realized.

Finally Kakashi found his voice when he gave her shoulder a small shake. “You guys should go home.”

They all went quiet, making him realize that they were probably shocked over him finally saying something.

“There’s no way we’re leaving you here alone, Kakashi.” Rin argued, pushing herself off from where she had been on the floor leaning against the couch to look at him. 

“There’s no point in all of us being here. We all don’t need to miss work or school for this. I’ll be fine and I’ll let you know when I hear anything.”

Itachi and Kisame seemed to have a silent conversation in the look they shared. No doubt they thought he was shoving them away to avoid showing any sort of emotion in front of them, and they were probably right, but Kisame acted first. “Fine, but be sure you let us know the same moment you’re told.”

Rin gasped at him. “Are you seriously leaving?”

Itachi helped him gather the cards. “If that’s what he wants, yeah. It doesn’t make a difference where we are since we will be here the second he calls us.”

“Thanks.” Kakashi said, though the words sounded empty to him. Itachi nodded to him and offered his hand to help Rin up. She took it but hesitated in front of Kakashi. “Are you sure you don’t want one of us to stay? I don’t mind, Kakashi, you know your dad means a lot to me too. And I don’t want to leave you alone with this.”

“Really, Rin, it’s okay. Go on. Please.”

She seemed ready to argue, but then sighed and followed the others. “I’ll be back in the morning.”

Of course she would. She would drop everything to be there for him, and he loved her for it. But right then, he wanted to be alone. No one needed to struggle to stay awake with him when they had their lives to get back to. Plus, if things were to take a turn for the worst, he wouldn’t know how to handle it with them there. He’d rather deal with this sort of situation on his own first before he allowed others in.

They must have passed the message on to the rest of their group because those who had gone out to dinner never returned. Kakashi grabbed a magazine next to him and flipped it to a random page, gazing down but not really reading. He was letting memories of his father distract him from the present. The day he took Kakashi to the pound to adopt a dog and ended up bringing back more than he bargained for. The day he took Kakashi to the park and taught him to properly throw a baseball. Taking him on business trips and extending them just to take Kakashi to local museums or events. His father had always gone out of his way to ensure Kakashi wanted for nothing.

Kakashi wasn’t sure if he could handle it if his father didn’t make it out. They were so close, just as much of best friends as father and son. They were partners in crime, it had always been them against the world. When Kakashi fell, it was his father that picked him up. If he had won an award, it was his father’s voice he heard above the crowd.

He flipped another page and froze. An ad for some medication, but a picture of a father with a child on his shoulders. More memories flooded and he had to shut the magazine before he made a scene. Sighing, he returned it to the side table and rested his face in his hands. When were the nurses going to tell him news? Anything was better than nothing. Couldn’t they even tell him how much longer he had to wait? If it looked promising that his father would pull through? Please be okay.

He stood up, pacing around the room and distracting himself with the layout of the room. The number of chairs. The fact that he was the only one here. Nagato had been right, hardly anything ever happened in Kasai, so people in the hospital waiting room this late was probably unusual or rare. Kakashi left the waiting room to explore the halls where he was allowed, walking past vending machines or empty rooms. Every once and a while the secretary, a different woman from earlier in the day, cast a glance at him to make sure he wasn’t getting into something he shouldn’t, but otherwise leaving him alone. Sometimes he passed nurses or janitors making their rounds, each of them offering a nod or smile that he didn’t see. His eyes were downcast, counting his steps every time he stepped in a line in the tile. 

At one point he passed the double doors that led to emergency rooms, wondering what would happen if he burst through to find his father. What were the odds he could find his dad before they stopped him? What would he even do if he did? He was no nursing student, he didn’t study human anatomy, and he sure wouldn’t be of any use.

So he made his way back to the waiting room and sunk back into the chair he had been in previously. If he fell asleep now, he was terrified the nurses might not want to wake him up. He returned to flipping his phone in his hand, wondering if he should text Yamato to bring him his phone charger. 

Suddenly the smell of food caught his attention. Someone had gone to McDonalds or something, because the waiting room was filled with the smell of burger and fries. Surely the secretary hadn’t left yet, which meant it was someone coming in. Looking up, he saw the last person he expected. “Obito?”

The Uchiha didn’t even stop as he entered the waiting room. He went right up to Kakashi, set the bag of food on the couch next to him, then caught Kakashi’s arm and pulled him up. Before a complaint could be uttered, Obito wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a hug that nearly crushed him. 

“I came back as soon as I got the text.” Obito said, still holding him. “I got here as fast as I could.”

Finally feeling something other than stress or dread, Kakashi returned the hug and buried his face against Obito’s shoulder. He wasn’t sure what to say. Thank you? Don’t worry, you didn’t miss much? What about your uncle? But right then it didn't matter.

Luckily Obito had no intention of letting go of him or inquiring anything. He simply remained still, holding onto him until Kakashi finally let go. But even then he didn’t get far before one of Obito’s hands was on his cheek, guiding his gaze up from the floor and into those concerned dark eyes. “Are you okay?”

Shouldn’t he be asking about his father’s well-being? About what happened, or if they had heard anything? 

“Fine.” Kakashi assured him.

Obito was unconvinced. “Liar, why are you here alone?”

Kakashi wanted to say that he didn’t want others to be here to deal with him. That he wanted to deal with this and that he didn’t want to inconvenience anyone. But instead he told the truth. “I didn’t want to pretend everything is alright anymore when it’s not.”

The man before him sighed, but it didn’t seem directed at him. “Sit down, Kakashi.”

He did, and Obito lifted the food bag to take its place. Instead of tearing into it, he placed it on Kakashi’s lap. When Kakashi made no moves to open it, Obito slapped his arm. “I’m willing to bet you haven’t eaten anything, and if you don’t want me to feed you like a mama bird, I suggest you do it yourself.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Fine, then I won’t eat either.”

Kakashi frowned at him. “What?”

Pointing at the bag, he answered, “I wasn’t sure what you preferred, so I got two different sandwiches for you to pick from.”

“Take whatever you want.” Kakashi tried to hand it back to him, but Obito placed his hands behind his head and leaned back, refusing it. So Kakashi set it on his lap instead and assumed his pose he had been in for hours already that day. Elbows on knees and phone flipping in his hand.

Then, breaking the silence, Obito’s stomach growled. Kakashi turned to see an embarrassed look come over his friends face and his lips tighten in a stubborn look. 

“Obito, eat.” He tried not to let a smile hit his face.

Obito shook his head. “Not before you do.”

Kakashi refused and a minute later another roar came from Obito’s body. Kakashi couldn’t help it and laughed. “You’re so stubborn. Why do you care if I’ve eaten today or not? I’m not going to starve to death after just one day.”

“Because I’ve been here before.” Obito answered. “I’ve already lost my parents, and though I may not remember them, I grieved for them. You haven’t lost your dad, he's just unconscious right now, but you’re already falling into the same pattern I did. However, unlike me, you’re not going to deal with this alone. So go ahead, Kakashi, tell me to leave. Don’t eat. Pretend like you’re handling this just fine. I’m not going anywhere.”

He was so serious. Obito hadn’t come here under the guise of caring about Kakashi’s father, a man he didn’t remember meeting. He came here for Kakashi. Just Kakashi. There was no false worry, just genuine concern over his, Kakashi’s, mental and physical health. 

“You…” he couldn’t bring himself to make a mockery of Obito’s actions, to tell him that he was an idiot and that he should leave. That he shouldn’t be worried about him. But he couldn’t thank him. If he did, he might lose whatever resolve he had to deal with this on his own.

So he opened the bag still on Obito’s lap and pulled out the first sandwich he felt. Obito watched him and waited until he had unwrapped it and took a bite before grabbing the other sandwich for himself. Being the hungrier one, he finished his sandwich first and stood up, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet. “Are there vending machines around here?”

“Around the corner.” Kakashi answered, gesturing towards the right.

Obito nodded. “What do you want?”

“I don’t-.” he got glared at. “Whatever you get yourself is fine.”

Obito rolled his eyes at him and vanished down the hall. Kakashi debated wrapping the sandwich up and putting it back in the bag and telling Obito he could have the rest, but after a few bites he realized how hungry he had been. His stomach had been in knots since the moment Sasori had messaged him, and if he thought about it he hadn’t quite had lunch either. 

To think that Obito had been mad at him all this time, yet here he was asserting his presence more than any of the others. Kakashi couldn’t have been more wrong, and at this point he was glad for it. Having Obito near went a long way towards comforting him, even if Obito didn’t see him in the same regard Kakashi had. He finished the food and crumpled the wrapper, intending to toss it back into the paper bag, but when he reached over he ended up grabbing the wrong bag. Instead, his fingers wrapped around a drawstring bag with Konoha’s symbol on it. Funny, he hadn’t noticed Obito bring it in. Was it his?

Curious, he pulled it closer and opened it, expecting to see things Obito would bring onto a plane for entertainment. A DS or laptop, maybe even homework from class. What he pulled out instead was a worn leather book with no title on the outside.

“It’s rude to go through people’s things.” 

Kakashi jumped slightly at Obito’s voice, setting the book back. “Sorry.”

Obito sat down next to him, setting two bottles of water by their feet before lifting the book and placing it back into Kakashi’s hands. He didn’t look upset by Kakashi’s prying, but there was something there that Kakashi couldn’t place. Still, he accepted the book and opened it to familiar writing. Small words, half chicken scratch and half cursive, in an attempt to look official that read out the ownership. Flipping the page, he recognized entries that he had seen Obito write before in a separate book. 

“You know this?” Obito asked.

Kakashi’s head tilted slightly, flipping the next page. “Sort of. Your parents made you write an entry a night to improve your writing. You hated it and often complained when you still had to make an entry on nights you stayed at my house. But the book they made you write it was blue, not red. I don’t know this one.”

He closed the book and handed it back. “Did your uncle give you this?”

Obito shook his head no. He ran his hands over the cover, choosing his words. “I visited my aunt this morning and asked her about how my life was when I was younger. Like what sort of person I was, where I lived, and who I associated myself with. She gave me the address to my old house which, ironically, is now owned by one of Sasuke’s friends. They found this and considered throwing it out since I didn’t write my last name, but when I introduced myself to them they ended up giving it to me.”

Obito glanced at Kakashi, the book, and then the opposite direction and sighed. “Look, this is probably going to all end in failure, I mean I’ve only read a little bit of this and I still don’t remember anything, but I’m trying. I wasn’t going to say anything in case this entire thing turned out to be a bust, but Yamato was so damn insistent about telling you and then you found it before I could say anything, and…” he finally turned back to Kakashi, clearly flustered. “Just don’t be upset if this doesn’t work.”

“You’re trying to remember me.” Kakashi said almost breathlessly. “I mean, not just me but Rin too and everything in the past. Obito, there is no way I would be upset over your attempts. How long have you been looking into this?”

Obito shifted uncomfortably in the chair, tapping the book against his leg. “Admittedly not a lot at first. I thought I could settle with just making friends with you guys, uh, again. Like new. But that day we went to the beach and I realized Itachi knew you and Rin, something didn’t feel right. It was like I was missing something, and the feeling didn’t go away. I tried little things at first, like walking around the city and hoping something would just hit me. Like going to the park or something. When that didn’t work, I slightly reached out to you.”

Kakashi’s eyes widened as he realized what Obito was talking about. “When we were in your city for the competition. You asked me to tell you a story from our past.”

He was answered with a nod. “I was hoping that would trigger a memory or feeling. That maybe I would be able to visualize something, but I couldn’t. However, that could also be my fault since I didn’t want you catching on to what I was doing. After you, I asked Rin for the same thing and still nothing. I figured visiting your house without notice was weird, so I decided to follow my own first. I looked up my family history and found all the stories of my parent’s wreck. That’s not really a path I want to go down, so I stopped looking for a while. This,” he waved the book between them, “is my attempt at starting again. But as I said, I haven’t read very much, so I haven’t really given myself a chance. But I’m hoping since this is me, my writing and memories and feelings, that I have a better chance.”

He ran a hand through his hair, letting the book rest on his leg. “I just hope that this isn’t a dead end either.”

Before he could think to stop himself, Kakashi reached forward and pulled Obito into his arms. He was such an idiot for not realizing it sooner. For thinking that Obito wanted nothing to do with their past and that he didn’t care. How could he think that? This was Obito, not matter how much older he had become or where he had lived, he was still the same man who cared for his friends. He should have known that Obito wouldn’t give up on him, and felt ashamed of himself for doing just that. 

“Kakashi?” Obito asked, though he made no attempt at pulling away. 

“Sorry,” Kakashi said quietly, “but can we stay like this for just a moment?” Because if Kakashi let go now, all the emotions he had been reining in all night might come crashing out. This was so close to being too much. His best friend trying to remember him and Kakashi hadn't even noticed. 

Obito shifted so it wasn’t quite as awkward and returned the gesture. The fact that he didn’t pull away or make a halfhearted joke meant everything. At first he simply held Kakashi, allowing him any time that he needed, but soon found himself toying with locks of hair. Kakashi was going to call him out on it, but stopped when he felt Obito laugh against him. 

“You know, it’s not as stringy as I thought it would be.”

“Excuse me?” Kakashi asked, highly offended. “Stringy?”

“It’s just so spikey.” Seeing that Kakashi hadn’t stopped him, Obito took this as he had permission to continue and ran his fingers deeper so that they combed through the gray strands. Kakashi leaned into the touch, remembering how he had done the same to Obito the morning after his birthday party. No wonder he had pretended to be asleep. Kakashi closed his eyes and rested his head against Obito’s shoulder, hoping to stay like this for as long as possible.

Unfortunately Obito didn’t feel the same because a second later he cleared his throat nervously. “Why don’t you take a nap? If any nurses come in, I can wake you up.”

Kakashi didn’t want to admit that sounded like a great idea and forced himself to push away again. “I’ll be fine.”

“Liar.” Obito accused him again. He picked the bag of trash from their late dinner off the floor and found the nearest trash bin to toss it in. When he came back, he took his water and the journal and sat on the opposite end of the couch, leaving an empty seat between them. “Lay down and go to sleep.” He ordered, opening the book to find where he left off.

“Why don’t you?”

“I’m used to working at nights, so staying up doesn’t bother me. Seriously, man, you don’t want your dad to see you looking all tired and gross when he wakes up, do you?”

“I’m sure he’ll just laugh at me.”

“Bed head would be funnier then.”

Kakashi smiled to himself, knowing that he was going to lose this battle. How could Obito just walk in and within moments make it feel like nothing was wrong? Hearing him talk about his father so casually really made it seem like they were in the hospital for a routine checkup. He shifted on the couch to lay down as directed, but opted to use Obito’s lap as a pillow. The latter didn’t argue, merely lifted the book higher to provide more room. “Happy?”

“Ecstatic.” Obito answered absently.

“Anything else you want me to do? You’ve been rather demanding since you got here.”

Obito’s lips curled amusingly. “Close your eyes and shut up. I’m trying to read.”

“Read it out loud.”

“I don’t know what’s written in this, Kakashi. It could be super boring.”

“Good, then it’ll put me right to sleep.”

Obito sighed then flipped back to the beginning of the entry he must have just started. “Fine, but don’t drool on me.”

Kakashi chuckled and closed his eyes. “Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to all who read and leave comments! It's fun to see the number count grow and the support goes a long way towards making me feel great about my work. So thanks again and hope you continue enjoying :)
> 
> Also just a heads up that finals are coming up and I might be fighting to find time for leisurely writing. I'll try to keep this from falling behind any, but studies come first ^^;


	13. It's not a Diary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a long absence, I have returned! Thanks for being so patient!

> December 5  
> Dear Journal Entry (Becausethisisn’tadiarynomatterhowmuchKakashisaysitis),
> 
> Dad is taking me Christmas shopping for the family tomorrow and I have no idea what he thinks I can do. I don’t know what my uncles or cousins want. Except maybe Itachi because he likes the same stuff I do. But what am I supposed to get a baby? I mean, Sasuke can’t even hold a toy for two seconds without throwing it at someone and demanding to be held. I suggested getting diapers because I figured my aunt and uncle would appreciate it, but Mom got upset with me. She said that wasn’t in the Christmas spirit. 
> 
> I wish they would let me shop for my friends instead, but Dad said that he would help with that later. I know JUST what to get them too. Rin has really been all about art class lately, and there’s a drawing kit I saw the last time Mom took me shopping that would be perfect. It has colored pencils and markers and charcoal stuff (I thought that was just for cooking?) and some other things I don’t understand but I’m sure Rin would. As for Kakashi, I was thinking of getting him these cooking books I saw advertised on TV. I know it sounds super lame, but Kakashi’s into things like that. Just yesterday he was talking about this new dinner ~~antre, auntre,~~ entre? I can’t spell it, but it was something he made for his dad. It had all sorts of spices and what not in it, so I figured a recipe book would help him out a bit. And maybe a blank book so when he makes his own stuff. I should probably ask Mom, she knows more about this than me. 
> 
> Today I helped Kakashi and his dad set up Christmas lights. Mom and Dad had to work late, so I ended up hanging out with Kakashi all day. Not that I mind, they’re a lot of fun. We made snow cones, but the flavor got everywhere when all the dogs decided they wanted some too. There’s nothing like a fifty thousand ton dog chasing after you demanding your snack. I would have given it to him had I not tripped and got trampled before I could. Pretty sure I got a bruise now. Bull sucks. 
> 
> You know the great thing about this journal? No requirements. I found out Mom and Dad were reading my other journal so I decided to invest in my own. I know they said they were just wanting to help my writing skills (they don’t need help!) but I don’t want them reading stuff. I’ve put this book in the vent for now until I find a better place to hide it. I probably won’t tell Rin or Kakashi about it either, because, I don’t know, what if I write something in here later that they don’t like? Like, uh, Rin you’re too naggy! And Kakashi’s a know it all! You two suck! :) 

Obito paused as Kakashi chuckled under him. He had been reading it slowly at first, trying to make sure the journal didn’t have anything embarrassing in it before he said it aloud, but had gotten into the writing. Before he knew it, he was reading normally before he could stop himself from catching things.

At least his younger self had a sense of humor.

“That’s not nice.” Kakashi said, glancing up at him.

Keeping his eyes firmly on the journal in one hand and draping his other arm across the back of the couch, Obito shrugged. “Somehow, I can see you being a haughty little snot. I bet you were the straight-A kind of kid.”

“I still am.”

“Stop bragging.” Obito grinned, flipping the page to the next entry.

> December 20  
> Dear Journal (Rincalleditadiarytheotherdaynoooo),
> 
> Have I ever told you how much I hate homework? I hate homework. Like REALLY hate it. I mean, really, do teachers hate us? Do they think we don’t have lives? I’m almost ten, and I have so much better things to do with my time than read a book. Who likes reading anyway? Except Kakashi. He’s always got his dumb face in a book. I don’t get it, it’s not even a picture book. How is that even fun?
> 
> Mr. Atomu gave us some homework for the break to turn in after New Year’s, but I really don’t want to do it. Math and English are so boring. I already have to write in journals every day for my parents, why do I have to do this too? Kakashi already finished it and I think Rin has too. At this point, I’ll be left behind again. Maybe they’ll let me copy. Mom and Dad would kill me if they ever found I did that once. They don’t know I have homework. Another reason why I can’t let them ever read this. 
> 
> Man, thinking about homework makes me not want to write in this anymore. I’m going to see if anyone can hang out today. I’ll just do the homework later.

“Mr. Atomu?” Obito asked, trying to scan the text for a hint of who that was. A teacher obviously, but what grade? Idiot child Obito forgot to write the years next to the dates.

“Fourth grade.” Kakashi supplied with a yawn. “We had different homeroom teachers that year.”

Part of Obito wondered if he ever did that homework. Funny, he was usually diligent about getting his work done early, he couldn’t imagine himself falling that far behind in school as a kid. “I must have been the school idiot.”

“Well, you didn’t have the worst grades, but you did have a serious procrastination issue.”

As kids, didn’t everyone?

> Janrurary, Janury, January 7  
> Dear dumb book thing,
> 
> Well, I’m grounded. You remember that homework I mentioned in my last writing? Yeah, uh, I completely forgot to do it and my parents found out. They were not very happy and blamed it on the fact that I kept hanging out with friends rather than doing work. So here I am, in my room, bored. They took away anything that had batteries or a plug, so the only thing I can do for fun is write in this. Man, how lame. I tried to tell my Mom to let at least Kakashi over to help me study, but she says no. She think’s it’ll be “too distracting” or something. Ugh. -_-
> 
> How sad is it that I’m tempted to read a book now? Mom took away all the comics I had collected, but there are still novels downstairs on her bookshelf. Something written by Stephen King. That can’t be too bad right? If he’s a king? Probably has to do with royalty and knights and stuff! I can just skip around till I find action scenes! Hang on, I’m going to go try.
> 
> Okay, Mom said no. I told her I wanted to read, and she told me that I wouldn’t understand it anyway and sent me back to my room. What am I supposed to do?! This is so boring! I can hear the phone ringing. I think it might be Rin. Yep. Definitely Rin. Mom just told her I’m grounded. Sorry Rin :(
> 
> I just did a pushup. Yep. Working out. This is my life now. I’ll become so muscular by the time I’m ungrounded that my parents will have to look up at me. Gaining muscle works like that right? Makes you taller? That’s why all those guys on TV who wrestle are huge, right? That’s going to be me. I heard they eat eggs raw. I should try that too.
> 
> DO NOT EAT EGGS RAW. Mom just saw me do it and told me if I tried to do that ever again I’d be grounded for longer. She doesn’t have to tell me twice. That was the nastiest thing ever. Like ew. I even bit the yellow stuff. That was horrible.

Obito had to pause reading because he and Kakashi were laughing. Oh yeah, he was totally the idiot of their group when they were younger. There was no way someone as smart as Rin or Kakashi would have tried that. He had absolutely no sense about him.

He covered his face with the journal in shame. “What is wrong with me?”

Kakashi sobered enough to speak again, “I never knew you did that. No wonder you hid this book.”

“I feel like I shouldn’t be reading this out loud any more. Next thing you know, I’m going to be writing about how I tried to eat hand soap because I thought it would taste how it smells.” He flipped to the next page. “Hurry up and go to sleep, Kakashi, I don’t want you to hear about this anymore.”

“No way, this is gold.”

Obito lightly smacked him with the side of the book. “Shut up.”

> January 28  
> Dear Journal (I had to kick Itachi out of my room to write in this, I hope you’re happy),
> 
> Uncle Madara came down to visit this past weekend. I don’t think Dad likes him much, they hardly even talked and Dad is usually very friendly. I don’t know a lot about this uncle, he’s from my mom’s side of the family I think, and she seemed happy to see him. He has a lot of hair, and I joked that he should put it in one giant braid. He glared at me and then completely ignored me. He’s just oodles of fun.
> 
> But Uncle Fugaku, Aunt Mikoto, and Itachi and Sasuke came to visit as well. I like hanging out with Itachi so I introduced him to my friends today. We all hung out at the park, but we didn’t get to stay long. Every time we have family over, Mom and Dad don’t want me to hang out with friends. “There will be time for that later” she says. What’s wrong with both?
> 
> Anyways, Mom seated me next to Uncle Madara at the dinner table which was super awkward. I didn’t know what to say to him even when he asked me how school was going. I told him that it was really boring, but that I enjoyed going for my friends and started talking about a new game that Kakashi and I are trying to 100% complete. (That’s the percent symbol thing right? I think?). Dad told me I talk about them too much, but I don’t think so. I think he talks about work too much. But then my Uncle told my Dad he was being a downer and kept talking to me about my friends. I think Dad might have thrown a knife at him or something, he got upset. I just started talking to Itachi instead. Sasuke ended up being the hero by attempting to start a food fight. He’s so young but he’s already so cool. Me and Itachi tried to play with him and ended up making a mess so Mom made us clean the entire table after and do the dishes. We didn’t mind, because we started a soap war after. I slipped, but I don’t think Mom noticed. All I need is another lecture to act my age.
> 
> ~~Febuary,~~ February 12  
>  Dear Journal (help me),
> 
> You know what sucks about having a birthday so close to Valentine’s Day? The jokes about dating! Everyone at school today starting picking fun that I should have gotten a girlfriend for my birthday. I mean, I think I have someone in mind already but I don’t want to talk about it. They would probably say no anyway, and I still have to talk to Mom about it. I’ll explain later, but I don’t have a lot of time to write right now. Mom wants to go food shopping. I’m going to try and convince her to get ice cream tonight. Leftover cake always goes good with ice cream!
> 
> Anyway, my class is hosting a Valentine’s Day party in two days and we have to bring candy for everyone so no one is left out. It’s going to be super boring since Rin and Kakashi are in different classes. I think the principle (principal?) might have done that on purpose. Why is everyone keeping me from my friends?! 
> 
> I’m wondering if I start playing being sick today, Mom might believe me and let me skip out on the fourteenth. Then I can stay home and play a new game I got for my birthday. I’m going to try.
> 
> February 14  
> Dear Journal :(
> 
> It didn’t work. Mom saw through it and told me to go anyway. Today is going to suck.
> 
> March 19  
> Dear Journal,
> 
> Me and Rin hung out today. She kept telling me to try different poses as she drew them, but it was really hard. Like one she asked me was to sit upside down on the couch while I played games. Have you ever tried to play Crash Bandicoot while upside down? All the controls are weird and I kept dying. I’ve never been so ashamed of my gameplay. That and if I fidgeted she got on to me. In the end, she gave me the picture though so I have that up on my wall. It’s really good too. 
> 
> We tried to see if Kakashi wanted to join, but it turns out that he’s about to leave with his dad. They’re going to some special event because they were both wearing suits. I would never say this to his face, but grey and red are a good suit color for him. I’ve never seen him dress up like that, but it looked really good. Not sure he would believe me if I told him or think it another joke, so I just told him to have fun and that we should hang out when he gets back. I’m actually a little jealous though. Where ever he’s going, I want to go too. It looks like fun.
> 
> I tried to tell Rin to draw me in a suit too, but she mistook what I meant and put me in a mascot outfit for our school. How do you even get that from suit? I look terrible in a giant eagle costume! My face and beaks do not go together. It was so weird. Actually, now that I think about it, I think she might have done that on purpose. How dare she!? I’m totally going to get her back for that now. 

Obito took the opportunity to glance down at his sleeping friend as he flipped the page. At some point, Kakashi had fallen asleep as shown through his deep, even breathing and the way he was entirely relaxed. So many pranks could be played at his expense right now if only Obito could have reached his phone or remembered to bring a pen. The perfect blackmail opportunity was being passed up because he didn’t want to wake him up. He wasn’t sure how deep or light a sleeper Kakashi was, and in the end he wasn’t going to chance anything. His original purpose was to ensure that Kakashi was taken care of when he got here, not wanting his friend to go through the same thing he had.

The earliest memories Obito had weren’t pleasant. Waking up in a hospital being told your parents had died and you were going to live with an uncle you didn’t remember wasn’t the most reassuring or happiest thing. Plus, no one knew him where he went. Obito ended up isolating himself and lashing out at everyone in confusion, fear, and anger that he couldn’t help. It was a wonder he managed to make any friends. Although Kakashi didn’t seem like the sort to take a shot at someone in his moment in pain, he was the type to push them away. No way was Obito going to let that happen if he could help it. 

Luckily, it hadn’t been so hard to do. Kakashi seemed to welcome, almost want his presence. He had been slightly concerned since Yamato had told him that Kakashi seemed depressed, but given their last meeting he could understand why. It wasn’t like he was actively trying to avoid his friend, but he had other things he wanted to do alone. It just happened to be right after their disagreement. The minute he saw in their group message that Kakashi’s father was in the hospital, Obito had just managed to get off the plane in time and run towards his car. A shame, but the only thing that was meeting his uncle in Chikyū was a suitcase. Madara was going to be so pissed. 

After a swift glance towards the secretary to see if anything had changed, Obito returned to his journal. Turns out younger Obito was an interesting kid. Yet the first thing he noticed was the handwriting had changed. Rather than be legible (as much as it could be), it appeared to have been written in a rush.

> April 5  
> Dear Journal,
> 
> I made a mistake. Like a really really big one. I probably shouldn’t be writing this, if Mom or Dad found out they wouldn’t let me hang out with him anymore, but I need to tell, I don’t know, something. 
> 
> I came to realize some things about myself. I mean, future me should realize this if I ever go back and read this stupid book because I mean who else is going to read this, but they are things I’m so confused about. I like Kakashi. I think I do at least. I didn’t know if it was possible, you know, two guys so I asked Mom. Of course I didn’t imply that it was me or anyone I knew, but I made it sound like it was something I heard in school.
> 
> I’ve never seen Mom so upset. Annoyed, sure, but she looked disgusted and furious. She told me it was wrong, that if a man were to like another man or a woman like another woman in anything other than friendship, they were messed up in the head. They weren’t normal, that there was something wrong with them. She told me that if I know anyone like that, then I should stop associating with them and avoid them. That I didn’t need a negative influence like that in my life.
> 
> How do I avoid myself?
> 
> She ended up telling Dad and Dad began asking me all sorts of questions. He wanted to know if I knew anyone like this and where I had heard it. I gave him some bad excuse that I overheard two kids in the hall talking about an older sibling and I think he believed me. But then he started telling me all the things Mom did. He said that people like that were wrong, and that I shouldn’t think about those sorts of things. That a man was intended to be with a woman and anything else was, again, wrong.
> 
> I don’t know what else to do, so I’m going to try and listen to them. I don’t want to disappoint them or make them hate me, but this is honestly so hard. Lately all I can think about is wanting to hang out with Kakashi. I mean, not even as anything other than friends really. I just want to be around him, even if we aren’t doing anything. Maybe I’m overthinking this best friend thing. I could be wrong about liking him. I must be, right?
> 
> But what if I’m not? What if this doesn’t go away? Should I even mention it to him? I don’t think he has really thought about liking someone else. He doesn’t hang out with anyone other than me and Rin and sometimes this bowl haired kid that seems really weird but no one else. Would he think the same way as my parents? I’m so confused.
> 
> I’ll just ignore this. It will go away, it has too. I’m overthinking it. It’ll be fine. I’ll look back on this entry and laugh one day. Maybe I’ll show Kakashi and his future girlfriend and we’ll laugh. Or maybe I’ll just burn the whole thing and pretend it never existed.
> 
> May 1  
> Dear Journal thing,
> 
> This book is getting sort of worn out, you know? Good thing it’s made of leather, otherwise I would have to use tape to make sure everything stays together. God knows what would happen if someone were to read this.
> 
> So my last post was a bit depressing, yeah? Well, let’s have some good news. Mom and Dad say that I don’t have to continue writing journal entries. I guess my grades have improved enough so they think I’ve had enough punishment. Little do they know I made my own haha. Anyway, I’ve been doing better. School is almost out and we’re planning a family vacation to the beach. Mom says I’m allowed to invite my friends, so I’m sure you know by now who I wanted to bring. Rin’s parents were unsure of letting her go with us, because two boys sleeping in the same room with a girl is weird I guess, but Mom assured them that everyone would be in the living room instead of one bed. Did Rin’s parents honestly think we all slept in the same bed together? No way, Kakashi steals the blankets too much. 
> 
> I don’t think Itachi is going to be there. His parents are sending him to a summer school so that he doesn’t get bored over the summer. I don’t understand how he could be bored. There’s so many things to do! School is so boring and too much work. I’ll take jumping into a lake than math problem any day. Maybe that’s why Mom is letting me bring friends.
> 
> Should I bring this on the trip? I feel like someone will find it if I do, so back in the vent you go. I never actually found a better place for it. I thought about the floorboard, but I can’t pull them up like I’ve seen in movies. I’m too scared of mom going through my dresser since she is all about clothes being folded, but no one ever checks the vents and the journal is heavy enough that the air doesn’t make it slide around. I’m a genius.
> 
> June 2,  
> Dear ~~D-~~ Journal (no one saw that),
> 
> I like Uncle Madara. He showed up in Mizu City during our family vacation for dinner and spent a day at the beach with us. He didn’t wear a swim suit or play in the sand, but he sat back and talked with us. He avoided my dad and a few others, but for the most part no one seemed to mind him there. I tried to ask Dad why he didn’t like Uncle Madara, but he just said that Uncle Madara was just a strange man. He didn’t tell me anything else, but I’m sure something went down in the past. Maybe Uncle Madara stole a girlfriend or something. Between the two of them, my uncle does have the better looks. 
> 
> But I tried talking with him while Kakashi was being buried in the sand by Rin. Even Sasuke was trying to help, but he kept getting distracted by seashells and random other sand piles. Uncle Madara seemed to be annoyed at first, but then asked about my friends again. I wanted to introduce him, but he refused. I think he just didn’t want to get up. I guess I get my laziness from him?
> 
> Anyway, out of the blue he asked if I liked my friends more than just friends. I can’t really remember what I said to him but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t English. It was the first time I heard him laugh, but he just patted my head and told me that I didn’t have to answer him if I didn’t want to. I think he has the idea that I like Rin, because if he’s anything like my parents there’s no way he’d guess Kakashi. (and yes, dear journal, I’m still pretending those feelings aren’t there)
> 
> After all that, he seemed much more friendlier towards me. I think he was expecting me to be mad at him like my dad was, which I don’t know why. Turns out my uncle is a policeman or something and knows martial arts. I tried to tackle him during our day at the beach, and he just flipped me over his shoulder like I was nothing! It was so cool! My back hurt after that, but it must have looked amazing! Kakashi tried next and Uncle Madara just did this weird twist around him and sent Kakashi into a wave. I’ve never seen anyone get the better of Kakashi so easily. When we teamed up on him, Uncle Madara somehow managed to cause us to run into each other instead. He’s so quick it’s like he’s a ninja!
> 
> Sometime after that he had an argument with my Dad, not sure about what, and left early without saying goodbye. I tried to ask Mom if he was coming back but she just sighed and shook her head like this was something normal. 
> 
> On the plus side, Rin found out she wanted to be a nurse. She tried to take care of me and Kakashi every time we got burned by the sun or scrapes from wrestling. Her mom is a nurse too, so I think she can do it. I told her she can take care of me when I’m older and I’ll do research to make her better medicine. I like science best anyway. Kakashi then started making fun of my grades, but I managed to shut him up before my parents heard. I passed, didn’t I? No need to bring up my grades again. 

Obito had to stop reading for a moment, setting the journal down and covering his eyes with the palms of his hands. What the fuck? What was all of this? His parents, he figured, were unsupportive of anything other than a heterosexual relationship and he expected that since it was the same way Uncle Fugaku and Aunt Mikoto were, but to be angry over it? To tell him that people were screwed up?

And what was this about Madara actually being friendly toward him? In all the memories he had of Madara, the only thing they had ever been friendly with each other about was when Obito passed something in school or did something good for someone else. Madara couldn’t care less what Obito did in his personal life so long as it didn’t reflect poorly on either one of them. It was like his younger self was writing about someone else. 

And…Kakashi? Just how much had gone on between them? Just how much did Kakashi know? Obito removed his hands from his vision and looked to the man lying on his lap. Surely if Kakashi had any clue towards Obito’s past feelings, he would have told him. Why wouldn’t he? Kakashi knew that Obito has bisexual. He knew that he would never insult or joke about him over something like this. Surely he didn’t know the feelings that Obito’s younger self harbored him. 

“Damnit.” Obito muttered to himself, sighing and running a hand through his hair. Wanting answers, he reached towards the journal again. There weren’t too many entries left, which meant one of two things. One: he stopped writing because he no longer found any interest in it. Or two: the dates reached all the way to the time Obito lost his memories.

> July 16  
> Dear annoying Journal (do you realize how much trouble you cause me?)
> 
> Yesterday Rin hosted a summer party and invited a bunch of people from school. I mean, I know Rin is really popular in school and that she has more friends than just me and Kakashi (but we’re her best friends so of course we’re better than all of them) but I didn’t realize just HOW MANY others she knew. It seemed like she invited the whole school! Kakashi didn’t seem happy about it, he mostly kept back and watched everyone else run around the yard or play in the pool. I, as you would think, did everything. Marco Pollo, racing, games inside, I even helped her dad with cooking! Well, I tried but I ended up getting distracted by Rin when she asked me to find her cat. Kakashi took over for me.
> 
> But the problem is that someone started truth or dare. The way I saw it, I would be able to do anything. I mean, they were lame dares like lick the floor or talk in a funny accent, but then like a total idiot I chose truth. I didn’t think they were going to ask me who I liked!!! Ugh, I thought it would be something else lame like telling them something embarrassing that happened to me. I had a whole story lined up.
> 
> So I lied. I mean, I couldn’t just point at my best friend next to me and say “him”. But I couldn’t say Rin or anyone else because I’ve seen the movies. I know that can’t lead anywhere good. What did I do, you ask? Well you dumb book, I stuttered my way out and told them the game was boring and ran for it. How uncool. I probably seem even more like an idiot. Even Kakashi was laughing. At least no one seems to accept except expect much from me to begin with. I’m just the goofball of the group, right?
> 
> You know what? I think I’m going to tell Kakashi. I mean, that’s only fair, isn’t it? He’s my best friend, he wouldn’t make fun of me over something like this. I’m sure he’d understand, even if he doesn’t like me too. He’s smarter than me, so he would probably handle it better than me too.
> 
> Can you imagine what it would be like if he did like me back? That would be awesome. Really really REALLY awesome. Like something out of a fairy tale when two people finally come together or something. Me and him are already a good team anyway. You should have seen us run circles around other people when we played soccer the other day. Well, at least until Guy came out of nowhere like the Roadrunner and ran circles around ME. I blame the fact that his father is a gym trainer. Guy is going to have the muscles of someone on drugs when he’s in high school. 
> 
> You know what? I’m going to tell him. I don’t know how, but I’ll find a way. I’m too scared to ask Rin how, she might get really excited and start pushing me to do it. I mean, I WANT to but I’m not sure I’m ready to. Not yet. But I’m going to. It’ll be fine. What am I doing? Jeez, I feel like some girl who draws hearts and class with the first letter of my name and my crushes name. I saw someone do that in class and thought it was the dumbest thing ever. I need to stop before I end up like that. Next thing you know my favorite color will be pink and I’ll grow my hair out and use make up. Can you imagine that? I’d be the ugliest guy alive. Well, maybe not the hair thing. Uncle Madara has long hair and it looks good on him. 
> 
> August 19  
> Dear Journal,
> 
> No, I still haven’t done it. Stop rushing me. You don’t understand how much harder fifth grade is. These stupid math classes are going to be the death of me. Kakashi and Rin understand it so easily, but I’m just looking at it like it’s another language. Really, when am I going to use fractions later in life? That or maps. I mean, I understand road trips, but isn’t that was GPS is for? Why do I need to know how to read a map? Or where other countries are? I don’t plan on living in them. Visiting sure, but not living. Unless it’s somewhere where there’s a nice beach. I love beaches. 
> 
> Anyway, I just wanted to write something really quick. Dad and Mom have been fighting recently. It’s not bad, like they still sleep in the same room and all, but I heard Mom yelling at Dad over my Uncle Madara. I think they thought I was already asleep, but what kid is asleep at eleven? I’ve been playing my DS, but that isn’t important. Anyway, I didn’t really hear much of the beginning but I sort of put my ear to the bottom of the door and heard Mom saying something along the lines of “he won’t listen to you”. 
> 
> Dad seemed to be on a rant about my uncle being a really messed up guy and a bad influence for me (I don’t see how, he was awesome to hang out with) but my mom said that she wasn’t going to stop talking to him. She said something like “he may not have made the right choices but he’s still family” and that only made Dad more upset. They didn’t talk much after that so I’ve no idea what it was about, and I don’t want to ask. Dad can get kind of scary when he’s mad, and Mom will most likely just brush it off and tell me it’s nothing for me to worry about. I should have asked for my uncle’s phone number or email. I’ll remember that for next time. 
> 
> His parents and uncle didn’t get along? That didn’t make any sense whatsoever. Why on earth would the rest of their family approve of Madara taking him in after his parents died then? Itachi had told him that when he was younger, he was really fond of his grandmother. Granted she wasn’t alive anymore, but she had only passed away his second year of college. She could have taken care of him and he could have taken care of her throughout middle and high school.   
> Madara had a lot of explaining to do.
> 
> September 29  
> Dear reminder that I’m an idiot,
> 
> I don’t feel good. For multiple reasons. For every reason. Why did I ever think this was a good thing?
> 
> First I go to school feeling ill but brushing it off because I had to take a test in science and I wanted to hang out with Rin and Kakashi. Then we started talking on the way home about Kakashi being my tutor. Perfect chance right? This was what I was waiting for. I almost wimped out, but….
> 
> Yeah. I told Kakashi.
> 
> I’m so stupid. This was a terrible idea. Really really bad. 
> 
> Well, I sort of yelled it at him. I didn’t mean to, but he pissed me off. The jerk didn’t even tell me no. He just told me that there was no way I liked him and that it was all in my head. God, maybe my parents were right. Maybe there is something wrong with me. I’m a total screw up, this was a mistake. I shouldn’t have said anything. What am I supposed to say to him now?
> 
> I’m not going to school tomorrow. Or the day after. Hopefully I get so sick it just kills me. To the future me, don’t ever do this again. Just wait until someone says they like you. So much easier that way. 
> 
> I am such an idiot.

…What? Obito reread the entry four times before it actually processed in his head. But even then he didn’t believe it. Just…what?

“Excuse me?”

He jumped in surprise and glanced down at Kakashi, still asleep. Good, he hadn’t woken him up. He raised his gaze up to see a nurse or secretary, it was always so hard to tell the difference here, standing before him. 

“I have news about Sakumo Hatake.”

“Good news?” Obito asked, hopefully. 

A smile lit her features and she nodded so Obito gently shook Kakashi to wake him up. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, probably thirty minutes or an hour given the way Obito had to decipher his own childish handwriting, and he felt a little guilty for not giving Kakashi more rest. 

The sleeping man yawned and seemed about to make some sort of comment when he saw the nurse before them. He shot up so quickly it was like someone had pulled him up.

“Your father is out of critical condition and they’re currently moving him to a recovery room. He had some shrapnel from the crash enter his chest which was the biggest concern, but they managed to clear everything out. Nothing major was hit, but it did cause a lot of bleeding so he will most likely be out for a long time. He’s got a concussion, but we believe there won’t be any lasting damage. Your father is a very lucky man.” She informed him.

With every sentence, relief came over Kakashi and left him breathless. His father had made it out okay after all, his friends had all been right. “Can I see him?”

The woman gave him the room number and directions before making her way out. Obito shoved the journal into his bag before it became a topic of conversation and stood up. “Guess I don’t have to be here anymore.”

“Are you kidding?” Kakashi asked, standing as well. “You don’t have to leave, Obito, I’m sure they would allow both of us to stay.”

Obito cast a glance towards the woman. “I’m not family, so I don’t think that’s how the hospital rules work and I don’t want to crowd your dad. Plus, I’m sure once my uncle realizes I’m not on a plane I’m going to get a very angry phone call. I don’t want to deal with that while I’m here.” He shouldered the bag and lightly slapped his friends arm. “But I’m glad everything turned out okay.”

What he wasn’t telling Kakashi is how much he really didn’t want to be there right now. His mind was a mess with the last thing he had just read and if he stayed, they would end up talking about it. He wanted to finish the journal before that happened. 

“I’m glad you came. It means a lot.”

“Of course. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Something passed Kakashi’s face as he nodded. “Yeah.”

Was he thinking about their past? Of the time when young Obito told him that he liked him?  
How could Kakashi know of this and not tell him?

“Let us all know when he wakes up. We’ll sneak some good food in so he doesn’t have to live off hospital rubbish.” Obito offered, succeeding in making his friend laugh. He reached into a side pocket of his bag and handed a phone charger off. “We have the same type of phone, so you can borrow this. I’ve got an extra at home. If you need anything, just send me a text and I’ll bring it to you.”

“Thanks.”

He nodded then left before their conversation had the opportunity to go back to the book. Yet with how Kakashi seemed to be about getting to his father’s room, Obito was worrying about nothing. The last thing he saw was silver hair dashing for the nearest stairwell because clearly elevators would be going to slow for him. 

Once he got into his truck, he turned the key just enough to get the inside lights working so he could finish reading. There were only two entries left dated October 6 and April 4. Rather a long space considering that young Obito had written once a month at least, which made him more curious about the October post.

He had only gotten halfway through the entry when his uncle’s number lit up his phone. Obito picked it up, motivated to make his uncle explain everything. “Hey.”

“Boy,” a very annoyed voice came through the other end. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

“That’s funny, uncle.” Obito said with absolutely no humor in his voice, reading the last part of his October entry. “I was just about to say the same thing.”


	14. Why, hello

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a short chapter, but I wanted to get something out before working on my Final and then going to an anime convention. Hope everyone's summer is going pleasantly and as always thank you for the support!

“Did I ever tell you of the time I jumped off a perfectly good airplane?”

Deidara made a gagging gesture behind Yahiko’s back, causing Sasori to snicker and Konan to glare at them both. Yahiko turned to see what was so funny only to have Deidara quickly look at his fingernails. “Did I miss something?”

“Nothing interesting. Just Deidara preparing a death wish.” Sasori answered, nudging Obito who sat next to him. “Right?”

“Sure.” Came the absent minded response. 

Yahiko’s attention turned to him as well. “Konan’s told me some things about you as well. You jumped in a shark tank once, right?”

Obito, if possible, became more bored. For the past thirty minutes they listened to Yahiko talk about himself and all the ‘save the world’ groups he was in. While Obito wasn’t against people wanting to help others, he did believe there was a limit to how many life changing organizations a person should join. Who was this guy trying to impress? “Yep.”

Undeterred, Yahiko continued, “That must have been quite the experience. I have connections with someone who works with marine animals. Maybe I can see if he’ll take us scuba diving.” 

“So do we! He works at a marine sanctuary and lives near the coast.” Deidara moved from behind Yahiko, seating himself noticeably away from Konan, and scrolled through Instagram photos to bring up an image of Kisame. “He’s already said he’ll throw us in the closest aquarium whenever we want.”

“Should we go for spring break?” Konan asked, hooking her arm with her boyfriend and giving a deliberate look to Obito. “It could be fun.”

He had no idea why she was asking him. It wasn’t like she needed his permission on who or who not to date and what to do with them. He shrugged, flipping through his phone but not looking at anything in particular. At the moment his mind was on a certain silver haired introvert sitting in the hospital for his dad to wake up. Kakashi was supposed to tell him when that happened so Obito had a reason to leave. It was the only way he could convince Obito to meet Yahiko.

Hopefully Kakashi had remembered to go to this hospital cafeteria for food. Just because it was likely that Sakumo might wake up soon didn’t mean that he shouldn’t be eating.

“I’m in, but only if I’m not thrown in with the sharks. I don’t care if there’s a cage or not, those things aren’t sane. They never blink.”

“Fish don’t blink.” Obito supplied, a smile curving on his lips. “And you’re just scared because they are continuously growing teeth.”

“It’s not natural! The world should have done us a favor and given them no teeth. Imagine it. Freaky looking fish that only have gums. They would be the grannies of the ocean.”

Yeah, and then the entire ecosystem would belong to orcas. Water pandas would be the terror of the seas. 

He stood up and made his way to his room, meaning to grab his phone charger and maybes a new source of entertainment that would allow him to tune out Yahiko’s stories of heroism, but realized he was being followed. So instead he sat on his bed and worked on unplugging his phone charger from behind it while he waited to be joined by the lady of the apartment.

She had her arms crossed and an expression of pissed off concern. Funny how she could combine conflicting emotions like that. Probably a feature only women could do. Just the other day he witnessed Rin looked hurt and relieved at the same time when she realized Obito had stayed with Kakashi when everyone had been told to leave.

“You don’t like him.” It wasn’t even sugar coated as a question. 

Obito sighed, not really wanting this to turn into a situation of miscommunication. “He seems like a great guy, Konan. But I don’t even like Chris from that show Parks and Recreation. The two of them could be twins if they changed their hair color.”

She tried to hide her amusement. How many emotions could Obito make her run through before they left his room? “He’s not nearly that bad. Give him a chance, you’ll like him.”

He grunted, finally untying the cord from the mess it had turned into. “As long as he makes you happy, then I’ve got no problem with him. Just don’t let him touch my stuff. He might want to donate it to save the whales or sell it to kids in Africa.”

“Ask him about his trip in Chikyū. You guys have very similar interests.”

“It might set him off on another story about finding the cure for the common cold.”

She slapped him on the arm. Did that count as anger? Should he count that as a new emotion? “Don’t be a jerk. Go out there and talk with him. Seriously, it’ll be interesting to see what you guys talk about if you actually try.”

Anything to get her to not nag him about this. Obito wasn’t entirely interested in making new friends, he was completely happy with the ones he had now, but he supposed he could try to be a bit more friendly. 

He joined the others back in the living room, kicking Deidara out of the chair that had the outlet next to him. It sounded like Sasori and Deidara were arguing over different art styles while Yahiko tried to keep up. Maybe Obito should take pity on him and change the subject before they argued over while artist is the best. “I’m supposed to ask about your time in Chikyū.”

Konan shook her head at his pathetic attempt but Yahiko took it as something of an olive branch. “I went there for a wrestling competition when I was a freshman in high school.”

Strangely enough, that was the same year Obito had quit the club and moved to MMA. He glanced up from his phone to Konan who seemed to be happy now. Five emotions now? “How was that?”

“Well, you kicked my ass for one.”

Obito frowned. “I wasn’t in wrestling.”

“You subbed that year.” Sasori supplied. “I remember because the next day you had to go to an MMA meet and tied with this bowl haired kid from Konoha. Deidara was laughing the entire time because every time you hit him, his hair did this mushroom thing.”

Now that he mentioned, that did sound familiar. He took a closer look at Yahiko then, taking in the physical aspect of him and trying to remember fighting him. “Sorry, I don’t really remember you.”

Yahiko waved the apology away. “I was still new that year, but we just happened to be in the same weight class. I don’t even think I lasted a minute against you, but I’ve trained a lot since then. Maybe we could have a rematch.”

“Unlikely. I don’t want to break Konan’s boyfriend so soon.”

“I think I’ll take my chances. From what I’ve heard, you recently lost against someone with no fighting experience. Konan showed me a picture of you with some guy with white hair. Kakashi was his name, right?”

Obito gasped at him then Konan while the rest of their friends laughed at his expense. Was he never going to live that down? Seriously? This was going to become their group’s newest reoccurring joke. “I can’t believe you showed him that. You have no loyalty.”

She smirked at him. “I remember a certain someone showing a picture of my butt to everyone when my pants ripped once. I wonder who that could have been.”

“Eleventh grade, Konan, you can’t still be mad over that.”

Deidara patted his shoulder in mock sympathy. “Take it from me, friend, girls hold grudges forever.”

“What do you know, Deidara, you can’t even get a girlfriend.”

Deidara recoiled from Sasori whose words seemed to burn him. “Sasori, my man, that is brutal.”

“I might know a few people to send your way if you’re interested.” Yasuko offered, but Deidara shook his head.

“Appreciate it, man, but not how I work. I’ll find a lady on my own.”

Obito shook his head. “I keep telling you to let me muscle train you. That, plus your hair, you could be the next Thor. Everyone loves Thor.”

“I prefer Superman.” Konan retorted.

“Oh god, please don’t start your DC vs Marvel argument.” Sasori whined. “I might actually shoot myself.”

Yahiko innocently came between the roommates. “What’s wrong with both?”

Obito leaned forward towards him, now totally ready to converse. “Did you see how they ruined the image of Batman in the new Batman vs Superman movie? That was the worst movie ever. The jokes in it were so dull even Zetsu fell asleep which is saying something. And Wonder Woman avoiding people? Then they just touched on others like Aqualad or Cyborg with no explanation? It was such a waste of money.”

“Oh, like your Ironman or Avenger movies are any different. It’s just a bunch of men having witty fights with each other over useless things. I mean, they didn’t even give Black Widow her signature weapon. They showed her putting it on but never using it.” Konan replied.

Deidara raised his hand. “I liked Transformers.”

“Shut up, Dei, all those movies are just repeats of each other.”

“Are not!”

“They kind of are.” Sasori agreed. “Robots destroy a city after causing the humans problems. Like literally humans are useless and are just caught in the crossfire.”

Deidara slouched in the chair. “Yeah, well, they’re still cool. It’s just like those racing movies Hidan likes so much.” 

Yahiko laughed before Obito could begin to touch on the new Suicide Squad movie. “You were right, Konan. You’re friends are a lot of fun.”

“Because we argue over useless things? You got a weird definition of fun.” Obito accused. 

The man shrugged, still amused by them all. “I don’t normally hang out in large groups, I keep maybe one or two close friends. It’s interesting to see how all of you guys interact.”

Not really sure what that meant, Obito had always been around a lot of people since he could remember making friends, he checked his phone for an update from Kakashi. Still nothing. It was already past lunchtime and he was beginning to get worried that Kakashi might be freaking out over his dad not waking up yet. Maybe he should go there just to make sure everything was okay. 

“Have you guys heard about that Mizuki guy that goes to our school?”

Obito froze, not wanting to give anything away. He didn’t even meet Sasori’s eyes just in case Konan or Yahiko were examining him for a reaction. It was doubtful that they were, but Konan was pretty sharp over things that involved her friends. “What about him?”

“He was hospitalized and recently released. Rumors say he got in a gang fight, but I didn’t think we had those here.”

“Maybe he pissed off the wrong people.” Deidara laughed. “He’s in one of my classes and is annoying as hell. I wouldn’t doubt if he pushed someone too far.”

That was a total lie. Deidara didn’t share a class with him. Obito glanced at Sasori who was also staring at him curiously but not saying anything either.

“I think he had what was coming to him. He was stalking one of our good friends.” Konan explained. “Did he say who beat him up?”

“I don’t think anyone deserves to be beat up that badly, but no. He said he doesn’t remember, although there was no signs of brain trauma. Friend of mine who works law enforcement thinks he might have been threatened, so they’re doing extra patrols around the school.”

Well at least Yahiko was providing inside information. Many of the police Obito knew lived in Chikyū, but there were still a few names he knew here. Like his Uncle Fugaku. He just wasn’t close to any of them and doubted any would help him willingly.

However, this also meant that Mizuki was no longer a problem. Good thing too, because if he had to go after the little punk again, it would be harder to hide bruises on his knuckles. 

Finally his phone gave a small chime and he glanced down to see Kakashi’s name pop up. Perfect timing.

> Kakashi: He’s awake. Just got some food in him. Everything looks good if you still want to visit.  
> Obito: Of course I want to visit. I’ll pick up Rin too.  
> Kakashi: See you soon

“I’ve got to go.” Obito pulled his charger from the wall and stood, instantly going on the search for his shoes. “Going to see Kakashi and his dad.”

“Tell him hi from the rest of us.” Deidara said happily. “And let me know what he’s like. Supposedly he’s more fun than Kakashi is.”

Obito paused with one shoe on. “What does that mean?”

“Rin says he’s got a funnier personality. I bet he’s got a lot to say.”

This was actually a good idea. Maybe he could ask Sakumo about some of the things in his journal before he went to Kakashi about it. If all went well, he could talk to Kakashi about it soon too. He doubted there were any more surprises at this point or his younger self would have written about it. He gave a nod to his friends then went out the door.  
The last two entries of his journal hadn’t nearly been as eventful as the posts prior. The October post was how he and Kakashi were trying to find matching costumes, so along the way he assumed they found a way to get over Obito’s weird confession. The way his younger self wrote, it didn’t seem like anything had really changed. The last entry had been young Obito brainstorming ways to spend the summer. Naturally the beach was an option, but it seemed like his younger self was fond of theme parks as well.

Then again, if Sakumo was very different, he would have worry about him getting to Kakashi before Obito could. Could this man keep a secret? Well, at least for a while. Obito wanted the opportunity to question Kakashi on his silence about their past after learning that Obito was hunting for his memories. There was so much unknown. He wasn’t particularly mad at Kakashi, not after the way Obito had tried to brush him aside early in their relationship, but he still wanted to know if Kakashi had intention of bringing it up. Either way, he’d figure out by the end of the night.

 

“You know, the last time I saw you two together must have been back when you were in seventh grade. You two were so cute coming into your new voices.” Sakumo grinned at the way Obito shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He knew the poor boy had no memories, Kakashi had told him months ago, but he couldn’t help but mess with him. Obito was like a second son, and it was a father’s duty to pick fun.” Of course, back then you were much shorter and thought yourself above the world.”

Obito frowned, looking to Kakashi for an explanation. “I had a superiority complex?”

“Well, more like you had a large ego that couldn’t stand to lose to Kakashi.” Sakumo laughed. “It was adorable the way you two were constantly challenging each other to the most ridiculous things. My personal favorite was an ice cream eating challenge. I believe more came out of you two that day then went in.”

“Uncle Sakumo, ew!” Rin gasped, entering the room with horror on her face. “There are plenty of memories that are much more pleasant than that.”

But Sakumo had achieved his goal of cheering up the Uchiha. Obito had come to visit as soon as he heard that Sakumo had woken up. Rin as well. The only difference was that Obito had been too reserved, as if he felt he shouldn’t be there because he had no memories. There was no way Sakumo was going to have that. Not when he knew Obito was one of the brightest kids he had ever known.

“Care to elaborate, dear?” Sakumo suggested, leaning back against the inclined bed. His injuries were wrapped, but not to the point where he looked like a mummy. If no one knew any better, it would look like nothing was wrong. He was doing well to hide any pain he might feel; that or the painkillers were doing their job. “You must have a few in mind.”

Rin sat at the end of the bed, seeing as the only chairs in the room were occupied, and examined the room thoughtfully as if something in it would jog her memory. “There was that one time all three of us went to the lake in the winter. Obito swore he saw a fish and was determined to catch it with a sharpened stick.”

Ultimately Obito had failed miserably and ended up slipping on the rocks, falling into the lake. Kakashi had run to help pull him out and ended up slipping in the same spot before Obito could warn him. They were able to get out and run back to the house before things had gotten too bad, but Rin insisted that they soak in warm water. Sakumo had come home that night to see the boys sitting in the tub of warm water together, their soaking clothes still on, and Rin scolding them for being idiots. That night they made chicken noodle soup and rented a movie, all piled together on the living room couch.

As Rin told this story, Sakumo observed Obito. He was clearly paying attention and enjoying the tale, but there was still some confusion in his eyes. Like he was trying his best to recall something that wasn’t there. It broke his heart to see the boy who had gone through so many experiences with his son and Rin not remember a single thing.

Before he thought better of it, Sakumo asked, “So, Obito, how far back _do_ you remember?”

The humor left Obito quicker than expected, and Kakashi frowned disapprovingly at his father. 

“Not much.” Obito admitted. “Just waking up in the hospital with my Uncle Madara scowling in the corner.”

“I’m surprised.” Sakumo ignored the daggers his son was glaring in warning at him. “It wouldn’t have taken us long to figure out that you were there and come to visit you. You must not have been in the hospital long.”

“He had me transferred to Chikyū not long after I woke up. I didn’t really question it because I didn’t know what was going on, but whenever I ask him why he didn’t tell me I had friends here, he always brushes me off.”

Kakashi’s gaze met Rin’s for the briefest moment, both thinking of Itachi. Madara had told him that he didn’t want Obito to remember anyone just in case it brought painful memories back. 

Sakumo didn’t seem to understand. “But you’re here now and you’ve met us again. He still won’t talk to you?”

Obito shook his head. 

“Honestly that man. I could never quite tell what was going on in his head. With our line of work, we tend to cross paths from time to time. He’s aggressive about maintaining control and order within the workplace and I’m sure that reflects into his lifestyle,” Obito made a small aggravated noise of reluctant agreement, “But I see no reason he wouldn’t be able to tell you anything. Feels like there’s more than he’s letting on.”

That wasn’t an entirely wrong way of viewing the situation, but Kakashi didn’t see what his father was trying to get at. From what it sounded like, Obito had already tried to confront his uncle about this and gotten brushed aside. And then Obito had already admitted to digging into his past himself. “What do you suggest, dad?” Kakashi asked.

Sakuma shrugged and winced as he pulled some stitches. “Have you tried talking to others? Like people who may have known you? Besides us of course. If we could have jogged your memory, we would have done it by now.”

“Itachi’s parents and the people who lived in my old house. I have an old journal of mine, but that didn’t quite jog anything back.” His gaze dropped down, putting his hand on his chin. “Itachi doesn’t know anything either, but he was too young then to be told anything.”

“What about medical records?” Rin asked.

They all looked to her.

“What?” she asked. “Maybe something happened to you that he doesn’t want you to remember. You said you’re allergic to some medications, so what if you went crazy?”

“Is that even possible?” Obito challenged, imagining himself running around in a hospital in his underwear screaming about aliens.

“Morphine causes some people to hallucinate. You were in the accident with your parents, right? What if you were hallucinating about that and it freaked your uncle out and he just doesn’t want you to remember that?”

Sakumo was about to agree with her when Obito openly laughed. “Like he was protecting me? I know you see the best in people, Rin, but my uncle isn’t like that. He’d consider me a coward if I couldn’t face my own problems.”

“That wasn’t your problem, Obito, it wasn’t your fault. There’s a chance he was legitimately concerned for-.”

“Sorry, Rin, but I’m pretty sure that’s not it.”

She huffed at him, crossing her arms in an adorable pout. “Well, what do you think it is?” 

“I dunno, maybe he doesn’t want to talk about it because he was really close to my mom. Maybe bringing her up hurts, so he avoids it all together.”

“That doesn’t seem fair to you.”

“Yeah, he’s not one to be fair about much. There was a time I got into a fight in school while standing up for a kid who couldn’t protect himself. Madara found out about it and kicked my ass when I got home telling me that my club practices shouldn’t be used on those who can’t defend themselves and that I was just as much of a bully as the kid I beat up. I pointed out that he was doing the same thing and he responded that what he was doing wasn’t senseless violence, but teaching a lesson and that if I couldn’t take it, he would sign me up for summer classes. Mind you I was in ninth grade and had good grades, so all that would have done was ruin my summer.”

“As I said, I never quite understood your uncle.” Sakumo laughed. “His method of raising you sounds like he gave you an interesting childhood.”

“That’s one way of putting it.” Obito muttered then asked, “What about you guys? I never once heard of any of you trying to reach out to me.” He gestured towards Sakumo. “You’re a detective. Surely you could have found me easily.”

“I tried looking at every form of social media.” Rin offered, “But it wasn’t like we ran around with cell phones at the time. We never needed them. When me and Kakashi tried to ask Itachi’s parents once, we were told that you went to live with distant family and that you wouldn’t be coming back, but they refused to tell us who or where.”

Sakumo remembered that year. Whatever anti-social kid Kakashi had been before didn’t measure up to what Kakashi had been after Obito left. Not even Rin could cheer him up, but then she was just as upset as he had been. Only a few months later when Duy’s funny kid showed up did Kakashi finally move on.

But it wasn’t as though Sakumo hadn’t looked. In fact, he had taken it on as a second project to find Obito, and he had succeeded. He just never told Kakashi. “Did you ever wonder why it is that Madara never told you off for coming back here?”

Kakashi and Obito frowned in sync at him, bringing a parallel in Sakumo’s mind of their childhood selves. They would do that so often when he told them it was bedtime that it appeared rehearsed. “What do you mean? He told me off for almost an hour for being an idiot and leaving when the best school for my major was in Chikyū already.”

“But he never forced you to come back with some weird ultimatum. That is because I made a deal with him in the past. Although he never explained why, he told me as your guardian he wanted to raise you away from Kasai and to give you a second life. I don’t think he meant to tear you away from your friends, I think it was meant to give you time to come to terms with your parents death without being constantly reminded that you forgot everything. He told me so long as I respected that wish, he wouldn’t interfere with your decisions after high school. Shame it took you until your grad years to get here.”

All three of them stared dumbfounded at him before fading into separate emotions. Rin into understanding, Obito into annoyance, and Kakashi didn’t look happy at all. “Why didn’t you tell me?” his son questioned him.

Sakumo didn’t blame Kakashi for being mad at him; if the roles were reversed he probably would feel the same. Still, he stood by his decision. “You’re a very independent child, Kakashi, and I knew the second I told you that you would try and get to him. I trusted Madara to make the right decisions, and I knew it wasn’t going to be forever.”

That didn’t make his son any happier, in fact it succeeded in making him more upset. “I’m going to the bathroom.” He said quietly before getting up and heading from the room. 

There was a brief awkward silence before Rin decided to go after him. Like Kakashi, she was upset that Sakumo kept information of Obito from her, but she understood as well. They were all young, and she wouldn’t have wanted to do anything that might cause Obito pain. But she also acknowledged that the boys were closer to each other than to her. She could never keep up with their challenges or bickering. Right now Kakashi probably felt betrayed by his dad, at the very least left out, but he also needed to know that it didn’t matter anymore. They had Obito back and Sakumo had been right, Obito had decided to come back to them on his own. Maybe not the thought that had been going on through his mind when he transferred, but maybe his heart had led him back.

Sadly he had already gone into the bathroom by the time that she had caught up, so she braced herself against the opposite wall of the door to wait. She ran things through her head, but what could she tell him that he didn’t already know? They weren’t children anymore, and she hardy had the right to tell him not to be cross with his father, but she couldn’t stand the idea of him hurting.

It didn’t take him long to come back, and he actually seemed surprised to see her waiting for him. “Were you waiting for me?”

Rin sighed and nodded. What else was she doing over here? Playing hide and seek? Knitting?

He found a place on the wall next to her. “Are you going to tell me that I shouldn’t be mad since he’s back?”

Rin looked up at him. “Do I have to?”

He gave a small laugh. “No, you don’t. I understand my dad’s reasoning, but it doesn’t mean I’m happy about it. I just wish I would have known. Would have saved a lot of heartache.”

Heartache? That was a strong word to use, though not entirely inaccurate. “With how young we were, we might have been devastated.”

“I would have been there for him. We both would have. Even if it meant that we had to renew friendships.”

“We wouldn’t have known for sure how we’d react. I probably would have tried all sort of medical tricks with him that I read out of my parent’s books, but that wouldn’t have helped. And he would have just lost his parents at the time. Maybe Madara taking him was for the best.”

Kakashi still didn’t look convinced. “And yet he’s also keeping things from Obito.”

“I don’t have the answers to that, but I doubt that he would tell us if we asked. If you want to try, I can try and get his number from Obito’s phone.”

“I don’t think- wait, are you the one changing everyone’s ringtones?”

“No, but I did notice that. Someone changed Konan’s ringtone for Yahiko to be Mr. Wonderful by Smile Dk.” 

“Who knows all of our phone passwords?”

Rin shrugged helplessly, having no ideas herself. She would have assumed Konan, but no one would have laughed at their own joke as hard as she did when she heard her new ringtone.

“Rin, am I making a mess of things?” Kakashi asked, slumping onto the floor. “Every time I feel like things are going okay, something else is brought up and screws everything up.”   
She slipped down next to him, brushing her clothes down, then answered, “You like Obito, don’t you? Like more than a friend?”

Not really any point in denying that now. If Nagato knew, Rin did. In fact, Kakashi was pretty sure she knew for a long time now. “Pretty sure the only people who haven’t noticed that is Deidara and Obito.”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure Obito knows. He’s got to. Me and Konan have talked it over before, and both of you act differently with each other than others. You can’t tell me you haven’t realized the way he naturally goes to you first before others, even Zetsu who was his best friend in high school. I mean, he was the one who stayed with you until your dad was in the clear and I’m pretty sure he wasn’t going to listen to you try and send him away.”

“Then why hasn’t he said anything?”

“Why haven’t you?”

A valid question that he didn’t have a reasonable answer to. All in all, maybe he should. At least that way he could get a solid answer out and stop all this back and forth wondering. “How?”

“I don’t know, take him out to lunch?”

Kakashi visibly flinched as he remembered the last time they had gone out to lunch together. Not exactly his smoothest moment, and he had a high chance of messing that up. If texting wasn’t such a cowardly route, he would much prefer that. “Any more ideas?”

“How about you pull him aside before he heads home later today and tell him? It would give him time to think about it, unless he has an answer already, and you’ll have gotten it off your chest.”

That wasn’t too much of a bad idea actually. At this point, Kakashi was tired of the stress he was causing himself and would much rather get this over with. He was sure he would find a way to deal if he got rejected, and he was staying hesitantly optimistic that Obito shared how he felt, but ugh this was so damn annoying. Rin was right, he needed to say something instead of waiting.

“I’ll do that then.” He decided, more to tell himself then Rin. “By the end of today for sure.”

“Good!” she bounced up, extending her hand to him with a smile that banished the gloom around him. “Let’s get back there then before your dad thinks of anything else to say in front of Obito. Knowing him, he’d probably start asking Obito what sort of work stories he has and then lecture him on all the bar fights he’s been a part of.”

Oh gosh, she was right. As lenient as his dad was on a lot of things, one thing he could never stand for was fighting. He would purposefully toss him and Obito out of the house if they argued over something stupid until they came to some sort of conclusion. Looking at that from an older perspective, that most likely came from all the fights his dad had with his mother. 

He allowed Rin to pull him up and walked with her back to his father’s room. As much as it sucked that his father never told him anything, it was a little late to hold that against him now. Besides, they had Obito back. He’d just make his father pay for dinner or something the next time they went out. If it was one thing Kakashi could do well, it was smooth talk himself out of a bill.

Yet once they got inside the room, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out something was wrong. First off, Obito was no longer in the room. The fact that they hadn’t seen him head to the bathroom didn’t bode well. The second hint was his father’s annoyed look, but it didn’t seem to be aimed at any of them.

“Where’s Obito?” Kakashi asked.

Sakumo sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “He… might be on his way to kill his uncle.”

Kakashi’s eyebrow raised slightly and he shared a confused look with his friend. “Uh… huh?”

This time Sakumo groaned. “I’m really sorry, Kakashi. I assumed since he said he read his journal to you that he knew everything already.”

“What did you tell him?” Kakashi could already feel his stomach plummeting. 

“I…” his father offered the most sympathetic look he’d seen since the time he had to tell Kakashi he was going to miss his birthday for a business trip. “I told him about how you two were dating before his uncle took him to Chikyū.”

Rin’s voice raised a few octaves. “What?!”


	15. That Friday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back again! Thanks for your patience!

“You know, if the Medic would stop following the Heavy, our team would be a lot better.” Zetsu sighed into his microphone, making a rather obnoxious sound. Yamato frowned from his end, not particularly enjoying the loud noise it made. 

“Focus on their Scout. He’s been making sneaky kills.”

Zetsu made a noise of agreement, even making his character dance in the direction of Yamato’s. Their team was preparing to stop their opponent from getting a cart from one side of the map to the other. It was called Payload on a game called Team Fortress 2. The two of them had been meeting up more to play online games; finally, Yamato wasn’t having to bug Kakashi or Asuma to play with him. His Steam library had more games now than ever before. Good thing his parents never checked his bank account or he would have a lot of explaining to do.

“No!” came Zetsu’s voice followed by cursing. A death message appeared on Yamato’s screen at the same time. Just as he predicted, it was the player that was playing as the scout. The little punk probably spent his entire life on this game.

Yamato wasn’t about to let that go unchallenged.

“Watch the cart, I’m going after him.”

He had his character, a Soldier, run after the Scout like it had just insulted his mother. Even if they didn’t win the round, Yamato was going to get the satisfaction of beating the person at least once.

He blasted the ground, rocketing himself through the air and taking aim at the Scout. Just as the scrawny character got in his sights, an arrow flew from nowhere and headshot him. Yamato furiously let loose a string of unintelligent insults while Zetsu’s laughter rang through his ears. If they were competitive players, Yamato might actually start yelling at him over that. Luckily for his green haired friend, they both sucked too much to be considered anything above average.

The round finished a few minutes later with their team only just snagging the victory. Yamato leaned back into his chair, stretching. They had been playing a good portion of the day, and he was beginning to regret eating a small lunch. “Hey, Zetsu, want to go grab some dinner somewhere?” he asked. 

“Sure. I haven’t been to Cookout in a while. How about there?”

Sounded good to him. “I’ll drive.”

“See you in a second then.”

There was a faint click before Yamato also logged out of everything and pushed the seat back. After this he could stop by and check in on Kakashi and his dad. From what he heard over the headsets earlier, Obito and Rin were there as well. Somehow he wasn’t surprised. Deidara was cracking jokes with Sasori about it saying that they all needed to ‘get a room’ and the best thing they could afford was a hospital room. 

Yamato wasn’t sure how much of that he wanted to try and interpret, but at the moment it didn’t matter. What did matter was how broke he was about to get ordering food. It felt like he could eat a horse. 

Just as he entered the living room, the front door opened to a rushed looking Kakashi and Rin following him on her phone. “He’s still not answering, Kakashi.”

For the first time since he made friends with the silver haired man, Yamato heard Kakashi snap, “Of course he’s not answering, Rin. Did you honestly expect him to?”

Ever the patient one, she responded, “He needs to let you explain yourself. Just leaving without a word is nothing short of childish.”

“He has every right to.”

“Childish!”

Kakashi turned a frown towards her and at the same time noticed Yamato standing in the doorway. All at once an obvious façade came over him, blocking whatever he was showing earlier. Anger, annoyance? Now it was covered by a stoic expression. “Hey.”

Yamato glanced from one friend to the other, raising an eyebrow questioningly. Since when was he treated like he shouldn’t know something? “Do I want to know, or should I stay out of it?”

“It’s not important.” Kakashi said quickly only to have Rin glare at him. How strange, these two had always gotten along. Even when they messed with each other, they never legitimately argued. 

All of this only made Yamato more curious, but he knew better than to ask. He trusted Kakashi to either handle his own problems or to ask for help when he needed it. They weren’t children after all. Yamato shrugged and reached for his car keys. “Zetsu and I are going out for some dinner. Would you two like to go?”

“Zetsu?” Rin asked. “Are you sure? We saw him just a second ago and he seemed to be in a rush.”

“Really?” Yamato went to open the front door, expecting to see Zetsu there waiting for him, only to have Rin’s words be confirmed. He unlocked his phone next, making sure he had no new messages, before calling Zetsu. It rang twice before his friend picked up.

Unexpectedly, seeing as he was just talking to him a minute ago, Zetsu seemed rushed. “Hey, man, I’m sorry. I was just about to call you, but I can’t meet up tonight. Some family stuff came up. I’ve got to go help my brother before he ends up putting himself in a situation he’ll regret. He’s quite the handful at times.”

“Is everything alright? Anything I can do?”

“No, it’ll be okay. I’m just heading out of town right now. Listen, can you tell Deidara to not let Kisame die?”

Images of their friend trapped in a closet by rope came to mind, but no that couldn’t be right. “Excuse me?”

“My fish.” Zetsu explained with a laugh, almost like he knew what was going on in Yamato’s head. “Kisame gave me one of his fish from Christmas since it was bullying the others and egotistically named it after himself. I would tell Deidara myself, but he’s still pouting since I accidentally knocked over one of his painting things on some project. It’s really not my fault that he leaves that stuff hanging around the living room all the time, but whatever.”

“Sure.” Yamato agreed. Zetsu gave his thanks then got off the phone, leaving Yamato to look back at the other two – well, one. Kakashi had already vanished within his own room leaving Rin alone. “So…you guys want to go?”

Rin glanced towards the room her childhood friend vanished into. “I’m not sure.”  
Their vagueness was really starting to get to him now. “What’s wrong?”

She made a noise and gesture of extreme frustration that caused Yamato to step back a bit. Rin like this was never a good thing. She should always stay nice and gentle. Annoyed Rin could mean the end of the world or something. “Obito’s gone again.”

Story of their life. “And this is surprising how?” He held his hands up in mock surrender as that dark look was turned on him. “Be real, Rin, how many times does he vanish? Granted the first time wasn’t his fault, but ever since he came back to Kasai he does his own thing. What set him off this time? His uncle call again? Konan being too cuddly with her boyfriend?”

“He…” she glanced towards Kakashi’s room again which was strangely quiet. “He found out something that Kakashi hadn’t told anyone. Something he hadn’t even told me until today.”

This couldn’t be good. “What is it?”

“I can’t tell you, Yamato. It’s not really for me to say. That why we’re trying to find Obito right now. I’ve tried calling him but he isn’t answering me, and Kakashi is…” she sighed and waved lazily to his door. “I don’t even know what he’s doing to be honest. He just had me drive him home.”

Right, well, Yamato was getting tired of this lovesick Kakashi. Enough of him trailing after Obito and Obito doing the same. These two really needed to get their priorities together before Yamato decided to lock them in a cage together. If his roommate seriously believed that he didn’t know what was going on by now, he was going to have another thing coming. 

Patting Rin on the shoulder with a reassuring smile, he made his way towards Kakashi’s room to finally tell that man to get himself together and either go after Obito or let him go. Rin may have come into the apartment claiming that Obito was childish, but the term applied just as much to Kakashi.

At least that was what he thought until he walked into the room and saw a duffle bag on the bed and random clothes thrown into it. “Safe to assume you’re not letting whatever this is slide?” Yamato asked, standing to the side as Kakashi went into the bathroom to collect things.

“Like hell I am.” For once, there didn’t seem to be any unsure feelings. Kakashi was legitimately going to go after him with no doubts or reliance on others. Yamato couldn’t help feeling proud for him. If only it hadn’t gotten this far for Kakashi to finally figure out that subtle hints weren’t going to work anymore.   
Yamato grabbed Kakashi’s phone charger and stuffed it into a side pocket. “Driving or plane?”

“Driving.” Kakashi answered, tossing a few more clothes and then zipping the bag closed. “I’m hoping I can catch him on the road before he gets to his uncles. That’s where my dad says he’s most likely heading, and after everything I’m sure he’s right.” He slipped the bag over his shoulder and finally looked at Yamato. “I’ll explain everything later, okay?”

“Good luck.”

Nodding in acknowledgement, Kakashi stepped around him and made for the front door with Rin on his heels. Yamato followed after them at a slower pace, but headed for his own car instead. Even if Zetsu couldn’t meet for lunch, Yamato had every intention of getting food. If Sasori’s hours at Olive Garden were the same, he’ll just sit at the bar and order some pasta or soup. 

Before he started driving, he sent a quick text to Rin letting her know where he was going if she was still interested then copied and pasted the message towards a few others. Thank goodness all of this was going down on a Friday that most of them didn’t have class on. He could just imagine how their teachers would react if everyone was missing for nonemergency reasons. 

He reached the restaurant a few minutes later and was happy to find his friend working. Sasori wasn’t the bartender that Obito was, but often tried to fill in when the actual bartender was out. Some didn’t seem to mind as much since Sasori’s measurements were off and he always ended up giving them more than what they paid for. Yamato sat at one of the corners and waited for his friend to come over and get his order. 

“By yourself?” Sasori asked. It wasn’t entirely unusual to see Yamato by himself, he often liked the quiet that came with eating alone, but Sasori probably knew he and Zetsu had a game day planned. 

So, he shrugged. “Sent an invite out but I don’t know who all is free. Zetsu cancelled on me for family reasons.”

Sasori pretended to clean a cup so he could stand nearby. “Family reasons?”  
“He didn’t elaborate, but it’s something to do with his brother. To be honest, I didn’t know he had a brother.”

“He doesn’t.” Sasori had stopped his pretend work and was actually slightly concerned now. “He had a twin brother when he was born, but his brother didn’t survive childbirth. He has no other siblings.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Yamato was now frowning. “Why would he say that?”

“Where’s Obito?”

God, did everything come back to him? Yamato was getting a little fed up with this. “From what Rin mentioned, he’s heading back to Chikyū for something. Kakashi is going after him. Their relationship needs to hurry up and get out of the grey area.”

“You’re telling me.” Sasori continued his cleaning, keeping an eye out for his boss or other customers heading their way. “Deidara was suggesting holding an intervention for them, but we’re trying to stay out of it. Obito has always been a good friend for us, so we’d figure we’d let him figure things out on his own.”

“You know what I think? I think whatever is going on between them, it’ll be solved in Chikyū. If it’s just those two, and maybe Zetsu, then they’ll have no choice but to figure things out. Obito can’t run back to his apartment and Kakashi finally seemed pretty determined to talk things through.”

“We’ll ban them from Kasai until they do.” Sasori concluded, making Yamato laugh. They could easily see Konan kicking him from their apartment until he came home officially single or in a relationship. 

A few minutes into their conversation, Asuma showed up and joined them. He was on a lunch break and had gotten Yamato’s message. It didn’t appear that anyone else would be joining them. 

For a while, when Sasori wasn’t attending others, they talked about possible plans for spring break that included going to theme parks or anywhere other than the beach. They even mentioned going overseas to other countries for the experience. Asuma suggested going a place where they could go sledding or skiing, an experience he had never done but always wanted to try. 

They were all about halfway through their meals when Rin showed up ready to murder the first person she saw. She planted herself on the other side of Yamato and sat with her chin on her hand, glaring furiously at the table. Sasori hesitantly glanced to the others before placing a glass of water in front of her. She proceeded to make a gesture of choking someone in front of her then pointed at each one of them in turn. “If any of you make my life as difficult as Kakashi is, I swear to everything holy in this world I will end you all.”

Asuma laughed while the others believed him mad for it. “You? End us? Little girl, your punches are like a child hitting me with a pillow. Maybe you should have your boyfriend look at you mentally. He’s the one trying to become a therapist, right?”

“Maybe I need it.” She sighed and played with the straw in her drink. 

“Does this mean you’re giving us permission to go after Kakashi and Obito to beat them senseless?” Yamato teased. “They both need it.”

That made a smile appear on her face for a half second before it faded. “Did you two know they were dating? And I don’t mean now, I mean back when they were younger. Before Chikyū.”

Not knowing them when they were that young, both Sasori and Yamato turned to Asuma who shook his head. “Had no idea.”

“Neither did I.” Rin admitted. “The only other person who knew was Mr. Hatake and he accidently let that slip to Obito in the hospital.”

“Shit.” Sasori surprised himself with that and checked to see his boss hadn’t heard. “Sorry, but that explains Zetsu’s sudden leave of absence. He and Obito were the closest in our group and Obito probably called him. If they’re going to Chikyū to confront Obito’s uncle I am positive that is not going to end well.”

Rin’s posture straightened. “We should go after them.”

But Sasori quickly stopped her. “Actually, best if we don’t. The less people who go the better. Don’t get me wrong, I’m concerned about our friends, but the last time Obito yelled at his uncle over anything, Madara threw him in jail for the night. He won’t let that mark Obito’s record, but he won’t hold back against Obito’s friends. Zetsu already has something of a record so he’s the best to go and keep Obito in check. If anything, you need to call Kakashi and get him back here. Whatever their problem is, they can solve it when Obito and Zetsu get back. 

“I already tried.” Rin replied. “I told him to wait until Obito gets back so he can figure things out with his uncle on his own, but he wouldn’t listen. He says he’s tired of keeping secrets and waiting to see what happens.”

“Then at least warn him to stay away from Madara. That man is a prick.”

As Rin took out her phone to do just that, Sasori moved away to assist another guest who had made their way to the bar. Yamato turned towards his older friend, pondering the new information. Maybe he should have tried to stop Kakashi too. “So you really had no idea?”

“We were friends back then, but we weren’t that close. I always thought he and Obito were simply good friends. Even thinking back now, it never appeared like it was anything more than that. I wonder why they kept it secret.”

“Maybe Obito’s parents were like Itachi’s? I’ve heard they’re against the idea of same sex relationships. Itachi mentioned it when I learned Zetsu was asexual.”

Asuma’s eyebrow quirked up. “Why were you talking about Zetsu’s sexuality?”  
“Not for the reason you’re thinking, idiot. Itachi recognized a girl he knew back in high school and admitted he still liked her. I was trying to convince him to say something to her and he distracted me is all.”

Asuma made a disbelieving face just to annoy Yamato and laughed. “Next time he’s nervous, tell him he’s going to end up like Obito. That will solve that.”

“True.” Yamato joined in the laughter only for both of them to get smacked by Rin. Asuma was right, she had no force behind her hits. 

“Be nice.” She scolded them. “Or I’ll tell Kurenai.”

That shut Asuma up and only made Yamato laugh a little harder. His friend was whipped when it came to that woman. He turned to make a joke towards Rin about that and stopped at the look she gave him. What could he say? He wasn’t willing to go against her even if she was as weak as a marshmallow. 

 

**Around 14 years ago**  
Two days ago. That had been the time limit that Kakashi had given him. Wait till Friday and he would give his answer by then. They had agreed, and yet Obito never showed. Since then, Kakashi had gone to his house every day, trying to get anyone to answer only to be ignored. Their cars were still in their driveway, so they had to be home, right? Did Obito’s parents find out what he did and were now keeping him from seeing Kakashi?

Whatever nerves he had Friday morning had only increased every day since then. Now it was Sunday and still no word. Even Rin hadn’t heard anything. 

What was he doing now? Sulking. Kakashi was sulking. In his living room. On the floor. On his face. With Pakkun laying on his back and the rest of the dogs scattered around the room in their respective chosen beds. He had envisioned the situation so many times and what he was going to say and the many reactions Obito could have gotten. Relief? Regret?

“Kakashi?”

He jumped up so fast even Pakkun growled at him for the disturbance. “Yes, dad?” he hadn’t even heard the front door open. 

Sakumo examined his son amusingly. Since when was the last time he got a drop on the kid? “Where’s Obito? Aren’t you two usually hanging out about now?”

“Usually.” Kakashi agreed, keeping the anxiety out of his voice. “But I haven’t heard from him since earlier this week. He was sick, but he was supposed to come to school Friday and he didn’t. No one is answering the door either.”

“Strange.” Sakumo placed his work case on the kitchen table and looked around the kitchen. Kakashi hadn’t prepared any dinner or laid anything out. This didn’t bode well. “That’s unlike him to not tell you anything. Maybe I should look into where they went.”

“I don’t think your boss would appreciate you using work for personal business.” Kakashi protested. “It’s fine. He might have been dragged to a family members house or something. I’m going to go look.”

“Wait, Kakashi, what about din-.”

The rest of the sentence was cut off by the closing of the front door. Kakashi hadn’t really been thinking about where he was going to go, but he didn’t want his dad asking him about why he was so upset about Obito not being there. If anyone was the person to see through him, it was his father and Kakashi still had things to settle with Obito before anyone else found out. 

It was already late which meant that Kakashi had maybe an hour to be outside before his father came looking for him. Although the community was peaceful, his father came home with enough horror stories of missing persons that he was strict about being indoors at certain times. 

The first place that Kakashi checked was Rin’s. There was a good chance that she might have heard something by now. If Obito was sick enough to be relocated to the hospital, her parents would have heard about it. That was that theory at least. Yet when he got there he found that he was wrong. Rin’s parents were still out, but Rin claimed that she had already asked. Even she at this point was concerned. They called her parents at work to see if anyone from Obito’s family was there, but the answer came back negative. 

After bidding her a goodnight, Kakashi walked by Obito’s house again. All of the lights were off, but that didn’t stop him from coming up to the front door and ringing the doorbell. It was only around eight at night and he doubted that they were home anyway. It was the attempt that made him feel slightly better. 

Unexpectedly though, the front door opened to reveal his mother. Kakashi was too shocked to say anything, he didn’t think anyone would be home. After all, they hadn’t answered the door yesterday or the day previous. But from his mom’s face, she hadn’t answered the door because he had annoyed her. More like he had just woken her up.

“Hey, Kakashi. Obito can’t come to the door right now, he’s grounded.”

Grounded? How did he get grounded? He was sick! “Really?” Kakashi asked before he could stop himself. How did Obito managed to get grounded in two days? What could he possibly have done?

Mrs. Uchiha nodded. “He got into a fight with one of his cousins this weekend when we visited them in Chikyū.”

That explained their absence. 

“May I ask when he will be ungrounded?”

She smiled at him, seemingly glad that at least one of the children she knew had some manners. “Friday. I can’t stop you boys from hanging out at school, but he won’t be able to see you after school until then. Will you tell Rin for him as well?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She thanked him and wished him goodnight before closing the door. 

Somehow Kakashi felt like an idiot. He should have known there was nothing to be worried about. Obito, as always, had gotten himself into some sort of trouble when Kakashi asn’t there to help him out. Things were always like this, and just because Obito liked him didn’t suddenly change things. He should have expected this. It was typically _Obito_.

Mentally slapping himself, Kakashi turned away from the house with the intention of going home when he heard tapping. Horror stories from his father popped up in his head and he froze, checking every shadow for the next Jeepers Creepers. No way some pedophile was going to get the jump on him. But as he listened, he realized the sound was from a window and glanced up the house. The lights were off, but he could see Obito in his father’s house waving at him. Part of Kakashi wanted to shake his head at him, letting Obito know that he was disappointed that he had managed to get himself into trouble within two days, but instead found himself waving back. The minute he did, Obito slapped a piece of paper up against the window and shined a light on it from the back so he could read: Park 10pm?

Was Obito trying to get him in trouble too? Kakashi shook his head no, but Obito had predicted this and slapped up another premade sign that said: please?

Knowing that he should stick to his first answer, but realizing he wanted to talk to Obito just as much, he held up two index fingers. Obito frowned, scribbled, and the new note said: 11pm?

Kakashi nodded to him and Obito’s face lit up brighter than the flashlight. He gave Kakashi a thumb up then vanished no doubt back to his own room before his parents found him.

Kakashi returned home to his father who had cooked some hamburger helper, not even asking his son to explain himself. Under normal circumstances, Kakashi was the ideal child. He never talked back or did anything that would get himself into trouble, so his father never pried into his private life. Just wanted to know if he was having fun at school, needed any help, if he was enjoying time with his friends, or the other usual parental questions. After dinner, they sat in the living room together where Sakumo worked a little on organizing the case he was working on while Kakashi read a book for class. He always made sure to read thoroughly because Obito never did and always asked questions. Kakashi didn’t mind, he considered it practice for any quiz his teacher might set up. 

Around ten they both went to their own rooms, but Kakashi didn’t try to sleep. Instead he crawled out to the roof outside his window and sat close to the drain pipe, waiting until it was close enough to eleven to leave. Just like Thursday night, his mind was running wild with what he was going to say and how he was going to say it. He had more time than he thought he would to reconsider his choice, but he was sure he knew what it was going to be. 

Around ten thirty, he shimmied down the pipe and jumped the fence towards the park. It was an even distance between his and Obito’s house, only Rin had the furthest to walk when they all three met up there on the weekends. This late at night there was no one else, so he planted himself on the end of a slide and stared down at the watch Obito had given him way back when they first became friends. The ticking was oddly soothing, yet the more it continued the more it seemed like Obito wasn’t going to come. Eleven came and went. Eleven ten soon passed. Eleven twenty. Where was he?

“Kakashi!”

Around eleven forty five Obito came to a skidding halt in front of him, completely out of breath. 

Kakashi frowned at him. “You’re late.”

“I know, I’m sorry, but my dad woke up and went downstairs to watch TV. I was hoping he would go to sleep so I could turn off the alarm and sneak out the downstairs window, but he didn’t. I ended up climbing out of the bathroom window since there’s that really soft bush outside; turns out it wasn’t that soft. I have no idea how I’m going to get back in.”

“Then why did you leave?” Kakashi scolded him. Obito was really asked to get grounded forever. “You could just meet me tomorrow.”

“But I already left you hanging Friday, didn’t I? My parents didn’t tell me about the stupid surprise party for my cousin and I didn’t want you to think I just left you. And I _really_ didn’t want to do that to you again, so I came.”

Putting it like that, and given their circumstances, he could see the concern. “I wouldn’t have been mad.”

“I- really? Well, I would have. Not at you, but at me. I mean, that would have been really rude twice. Plus I’m already grounded so it’s not like they can do anything to me anyway.” Obito planted himself on the ground in front of Kakashi, leaning back on his hands. 

“Why did you get grounded?”

“Because my cousin started talking about this guy in his class that was really dumb and the whole class had to wait on him. He was being really mean about it, so I told him to shut up and he said I was only defending that kid because I’m probably just like him. I don’t measure up to the rest of the geniuses of my family.”

“And you hit him?”

“No, I _pummeled_ him.”

Kakashi sighed at his friend. “You’re not helping your case, Obito. You should have told him something like it takes one to know one.”

Obito opened his mouth to retort then shut it. “Yeah, actually, that would have been a good one.”

He fell silent after that, and Kakashi thought about what to say next. He was sure they had the same nagging thought in the back of their heads. What was Kakashi going to say? Who was going to bring it up first?

“Uh,” Kakashi started, hoping it would come out on its own. “Listen, Obito,”

“You don’t have to say anything.” Obito interrupted, keeping his face down. If he looked at Kakashi now, he wouldn’t be able to get his piece out. “About the whole Friday deadline thing, you don’t have to give me an answer. I realize it was sudden and really out of the blue, so you don’t have to say anything. I don’t want to ruin the friendship we have or make anything awkward if you say no, so I mean we can just keep things as they are. If you change your mind in the future you can tell me, but I won’t bother you about it. I’ll just-,”

“Obito, I was going to say yes.”

More silence. Obito didn’t even move. He may as well be a statue. Kakashi expected a sad, happy, or even violent reaction coming from someone who had the emotional range of a teaspoon, but nothing? Nothing at all? 

“Obito?”

But then he heard it. A sniff following by his head lowering more and a hand coming to his face. There was no way. He put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, slipping to his knees so they were on the same level. “Obito, are you okay?”

“I thought you were going to say no.” Came Obito’s shaking voice. “I thought you were going to be mad at me and that I had ruined everything by leaving.”

Kakashi made a ‘pfft’ noise and ruffled his hair. “Of course not, I’m not that shallow. Now stop with the waterworks, you crybaby.”

“I’m not crying, there’s something in my eyes.” Obito argued, brushing at his eyes with his sleeve. 

“You totally are.” Kakashi chuckled, pulling Obito into a hug. He could tell Obito was doing his best to pull himself together, but something about the situation came as a relief. He wasn’t the only one who had been stressing about this. To have Obito react like this… he must have really cared a lot about what Kakashi thought of him. He never realized he had that much of an impact on his friend – or were they more than that now?

He waited until the sniffles stopped before he pulled back. “What are we going to tell your parents?”

Obito’s expression turned to horror. “We can’t tell them. They would freak and would never let me see you again. That’s not an exaggeration. I don’t know what my Uncle Madara did, but they almost cut him off from the family this weekend over, I don’t know, something. Seriously, Kakashi, not a word.”

“I won’t.” he assured him. He should have known Obito’s parents wouldn’t have been supportive from what Obito had told him before. “We don’t know who in school will go to your parents either so we can’t say anything at school either, huh?”

“It’s kind of sad that I’m making you like this big secret.” Obito said miserably. “This sucks, I hate that my parents aren’t like your dad.”

“We won’t tell my dad either.” Kakashi said. “To make it fair. Maybe your parents will change their mind when we’re in high school. Plus, even if they don’t, if you don’t break up with me in high school, they can’t tell you what to do when we’re eighteen.”

“I would never break up with you.” Obito assured him seriously then grinned. “You’re stuck with me.”

“Maybe I’ll be a good influence on you and you’ll stop attacking your cousins.”

Obito laughed. “Yeah right. We’ve been friends for how long again?”

“Good point.” Kakashi admitted. “But what about Rin? I doubt she would tell anyone.”

“You don’t think she’d be really upset that we kept this from her?”

“She probably would be, but I don’t think for long.”

“Maybe…” Obito crossed his arms. “Maybe we shouldn’t tell her either. At least not yet.”

“Why?”

“Well, I mean, we’re still new to this ourselves, right? The last thing we need is Rin asking how we’re doing about things or bugging us or leaving us in awkward situations.” His voice raised an octave in his best Rin voice. “I’ll just leave the two of you alone, okay? Have fun you lovebirds.” His voice changed back to normal. “How weird would that be? Or she might feel left out.”

Kakashi blinked at him, slightly shocked. “You’ve really thought about this, haven’t you?”

A blush crept up on his cheeks that Kakashi had never quite paid attention to before. “Well, yeah. Actually, I have. Is that strange?”

“No, it’s kind of cute.”

The blush turned harsher and Obito stood up, putting space between them. Kakashi recognized this as something Obito normally did when he was embarrassed, but thinking back he never realized that it mostly happened around him. Obito really had been having these thoughts for a long time. How was it that he had never noticed before?

“As much as I would love to stay here, I need to find a way back into my house where my dad won’t notice.” Obito changed the subject quite obviously, but luckily what he changed it too was equally as important. 

Kakashi stood also. “We have a ladder at my house we can use. It’s still in the backyard, so we don’t have to risk opening the garage and waking up my dad.”

“Perfect.” Obito perked up, following Kakashi’s lead towards the house. “Do you think things will change at school?”

Somehow, Kakashi doubted it. If Obito could hide it from everyone before, it should be much easier now. Kakashi only hoped that he wouldn’t let something slip by mistake. “It’ll be fine. We’re in this together now, so I’ll have your back.”

The following week was easy to manage. They were able to keep from anyone else finding out at school, and having Rin constantly bugging Obito about leaving them hanging was a good distraction. Plus, there was a lot of schoolwork from the previous week Obito had missed while being sick that he had to catch up on. His parents refused to let Kakashi help, so they had hired a tutor. 

The week after that was much better. Kakashi, Obito, and Rin hung out a lot but there were more glances between the two boys, like they had some sort of inside joke shared between them or finding out more about each other than before. Like the way Obito was easy to make laugh and how quickly he was to defend people he believed were just like him: the black sheep of family or friends. Or the way Kakashi liked to analyze situations and figure things out before they happened in movies or find new ways to go about certain situations like cooking or dealing with school problems. Most of all, they were finally growing to look at each other more than friends. They sat next to each other more rather than let Rin sit between them – much to her confusion – or look to hang out with each other more. Having Rin unable to join them wasn’t as awkward as before.

The third week Kakashi thought he might have given Obito a heart attack. They had been watching a movie together, one of the original Star Wars trilogy movies, and Kakashi took Obito’s hand in his. One glance to his side showed that Obito was mentally freaking out over it. Face completely red, visibly frozen, and Kakashi was sure if he felt for a heartbeat it would have been running a marathon. It took Obito two different scenes in the movie to get comfortable again, but he didn’t say anything. In fact, about halfway through the movie he repositioned so that their fingers were laced. The small victory seemed to mean so much to him, he was grinning like an idiot the rest of the film. 

The fourth week went about the same as the previous, but the fifth week was when they finally made a mistake. They had been having a sleepover at Kakashi’s house on a Saturday night, playing a game on the Dreamcast that Obito had brought over. They were taking turns playing Sonic, switching off every time one of them failed, but Obito had gotten super competitive. At first Kakashi didn’t mind, he seemed content on letting Obito play for a while, but after the twentieth time of dying on the same level he wanted to have a turn. 

“Ready to give up?” Kakashi offered, expecting Obito to finally hand the controller off. 

Instead the Uchiha growled at the TV, watching the blue hedgehog fall off the side of a cliff. “No, I can do it.”

“Let me try. I might be able to get it.”

“No way. I’ve tried loads of times and if I can’t get it then you – NO!” once again his character went off on the same side. He gripped the controller furiously. “I swear to _God_ this is the most annoying thing ever!”

“Seriously, Obito, let me-,”

“No!”

Kakashi crossed his arms and leaned back, no longer watching the TV. He might not spend his entire life playing video games like Obito, but he wasn’t bad at playing them. “Stop being stingy. Let me try!” 

He reached for the remote which was jerked away from him. Just like the time he climbed the tree in Obito’s backyard, Kakashi refused to give in. He especially refused to give in when his boyfriend was being so damn stubborn. Shifting slightly, he tried again only to have Obito jump from on cushion to the other, glaring slightly at him. “Buzz off, Bakakashi, I can do it.”

Did he just…?

“Hand it over!” Kakashi lunged at Obito, putting one hand on his chest and the other reaching for the controller that Obito was keeping out of the way. “You’re being greedy!”

Obito attempted to push Kakashi away, unable to get his legs up to use those as aid. “Just let me do this level and you can do the next!”

“That’s unfair!”

“No, it’s not!”

When pushing him straight back wasn’t working, Obito grabbed Kakashi’s shirt and yanked sideways, throwing him off the couch. At the last minute, Kakashi held on to him, forcing them both to go down in a wrestling match. In an attempt to gain the upper hand, Obito slide the controller across the floor away from them so he could put his full focus on winning. 

“Get off me, I have to beat the level.” Obito snapped at him, trying to pull his wrists from Kakashi’s grip and push against him so that he could flip him over.  
But Kakashi wasn’t about to let him. “You’re such a stingy punk, Obito.” 

“And you are not going to win, Bakakashi.” 

Kicking off the side of the couch, he pushed them both over so that he was straddling Kakashi’s waist, trying to gain control. The game long forgotten by now, both of them were in a mixture of laughs and struggling. Every time one seemed to have the upper hand, they would flip over and the struggle continued. Each time they flipped, it led them further away from the couch and towards the middle of the room. 

It finally ended with Obito sitting on top of his friend but with both wrists trapped by Kakashi. They were slightly out of breath from their wrestling match although completely pleased with themselves.

“I win.” Obito said proudly. 

Kakashi scoffed at him. “Please, says the one with his wrists trapped.”

“But I’m on top.”

“Doesn’t mean you’re the winner. The winner is the one in control.”

Now it was Obito’s turn to laugh. “Which is still me.”

“You are all kinds of wrong.” 

“You’re not always right all the time. I’m totally the winner.”

Kakashi sighed then yanked Obito down towards him. At first Obito thought it was another form of wrestling, tensing against being flipped again, but that wasn’t what Kakashi was aiming for at all. Instead he released one of Obito’s wrists and moved it to the side of his face, slowly running it across his cheek then sinking it into his hair, pulling them closer together. 

Panic flashed across Obito but he didn’t pull away. He simply stared at Kakashi with wide eyes, at a loss of whether he should be running or…literally anything else. He felt his other wrist being released and a tug on the front of his shirt, pulling him even closer until they were hardly an inch apart. Kakashi, as always, looked completely in his element. His eyes firmly trained on Obito’s, fingers teasing Obito’s neck and that dumb, cocky smirk on his face. 

“See?” Kakashi teased. “As I said. The winner is the one in control.”

Well if that didn’t put things in perspective. 

“You’re a jerk, Bakakashi.” And there was no way he was going to let it go like that. Grabbing Kakashi’s shirt, he pulled him forward until their lips connected. Nearly as soon as it happened, Obito pulled back and saw his own embarrassed face reflected on Kakashi’s. He hadn’t quite thought that through before he did that. “Uh.”

“Did you just kiss me?”

“Uh…I…um…”

“Obito?” Kakashi pulled Obito’s hand from his shirt and held onto it. “Was that your first?”

His lips tightened in a straight line and he nodded. “Um…I think so…yeah…”

“Mine too.” Kakashi chuckled then leaned forward to kiss him again. It was slightly awkward with neither one of them being truly experienced, but he didn’t care. He put both arms around Obito’s waist and pulled them closer together while Obito braced himself up on one elbow. 

It was a moment that felt like it would last forever, something that was freaky and amazing all at once. Obito would normally deny to anyone that this was something he had been thinking about doing for the longest time, but now it felt amazing. It felt like Kakashi finally like his partner in crime now, the person who felt the same for him despite his parents telling it was wrong. There was no way this could be wrong. 

“Boys?”

Both of them froze to the sound of Sakumo’s voice in the doorway. No. He wasn’t supposed to be home yet. 

“Oh god.” Obito breathed, fear striking him. They both turned slightly to confirm one of their biggest fears: being found out. Not only by their friends, but their family. 

At Kakashi’s urging, Obito got off and sat beside him so that Kakashi could sit up and face his dad. “Hi, dad.”

Sakumo looked between the two of them, his arms filled with grocery bags still. “So should I start making you two sleep in separate rooms?”

Obito covered his face, dying in embarrassment, and Kakashi gave his dad a bored look. “Are you serious?”

“Not really, but maybe when you’re older.”

“Dad!” 

“I might actually die right now.” Obito whined into the palms of his hands.

Sakumo laughed and giggled the bags in his hands. “Come help me with these, rugrats. I’ve bought takeout, popcorn, and rented some movies.”

Obito dropped his hands, looking miserably up like someone caught robbing a bank or something. “You’re not mad?”

“Mad?” Sakumo grinned at the boy. “Why should I be mad? I’m actally happy that my son has found someone he likes more than a friend and to top it off it’s you. I already know and like you, kid, and I also know what kind of person you are. Give me a little warning next time and I’ll try not to walk in on you two again.”

“Oh my god.” Obito groaned and Kakashi sighed. He grabbed Obito by the hand, pulling him as they got to their feet. “Come on, Obito, let’s go help out.”

Obito mumbled something in response that probably wasn’t even English as they hobbled up the stairs. He knew that Kakashi’s dad was a lot more chill than his own parents, but he didn’t expect him to be instantly okay with everything. Even more so to start teasing them right off the bat. Obito wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to handle it. 

He glanced nervously at Kakashi who no longer looked annoyed at his father, but concerned for him. “Are you okay?” He gently squeezed Obito’s hand, reminding him that he was still holding on.

“Yeah.” And he was surprised to find that it was the truth. “I guess I just wasn’t expecting your dad to be so chill about it.”

“He’s pretty acceptant about a lot of things. I’ll talk to him later to make sure he doesn’t tell anyone else. Don’t worry, he’s good at keeping secrets.”

“It’s fine, really.” Obito assured him. “I’m sure your dad won’t talk. He’s met my parents before, so I’m sure he gets it. Actually, I’m glad it was him and not someone else. But, do you really think he would make us sleep in separate rooms?”

Kakashi chuckled at that. “I doubt it. He probably saw that he freaked you out enough.” He opened the car door and pulled out the Chinese takeout to hand to Obito before picking up the stack of movies and the rest of the groceries. 

They brought it back inside and helped unload everything. Being good friends to begin with and spending many hours at each other’s house, Obito knew exactly where everything went. Sakumo didn’t crack any more jokes, but treated him exactly as they always been. Part of Obito couldn’t help but wish that he could simply be adopted by Mr. Hatake and just live with him and Kakashi all the time. At least that way, he would be in a house where he wouldn’t be judged for being himself and he could have a more open relationship with Kakashi. But he knew in the end he would have to return home and pretend to be the perfect child – someone that he wasn’t and the kid who would never amount to anything his genius cousins could do.

Yet as he glanced across the kitchen to where Kakashi and Sakumo were teasing each other about their likes and dislikes of Chinese food, Obito couldn’t help but smile. For now in this moment, things were okay. No judgement, only acceptance. And when Kakashi finally turned his way, expecting Obito to take his side on the whole “sweet and sour chicken is better than sesame chicken” dispute, Obito was sure to disappoint him and side with his father. Not because he believed one was better than the other, but because of that adorably pouty face that Kakashi did. 

**Present Again**  
“Where are you at now?” Yamato asked, pausing his Don’t Starve Together Game. 

“I’m about thirty minutes from Chikyū. I’ll check in at a hotel before I go out and search for Obito.”

Yamato checked the time. It was close to midnight now, and going out by yourself in a city that you weren’t originally from wasn’t a good idea. “Maybe you should wait till morning.”

They had been unsuccessful in trying to get Kakashi to come home. He was too determined now, which was unfortunate. Why couldn’t he have been like this before? Probably would have stopped a lot of this from stretching out. 

“I have a few places I want to check out. I also called Zetsu earlier and he told me not to worry about anything and that he’d handle it, but it sounded loud where he was. I’m going to check a few hang out spots.”

“You’re going to get yourself beat up in an alley, Kakashi…”

“Such faith. Much trust. Many positivity. Wow.”

“Oh shut up.” Yamato smirked. “Don’t cry to me when you need someone to explain to your dad why you’re in the hospital.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll text you tomorrow to let you know if I’m alive or not.”

“I’d rather you text Rin instead. She seemed really worried about you. The rest of us are just making jokes at your expense.”

Kakashi made a hurt noise on the other end. “I have amazing friends.”

“Yeah, well, you’re welcome to try and make other ones, but they’ll never be as good as us. Specifically, me. I’m the best thing that ever happened to you.”

“Sure, Yamato, absolutely.” 

“Good luck, Kakashi. Tell Obito I said hi.”

“Will do.”

Yamato hung up the phone, setting it beside his desk clock and sighing. He had debated going after Kakashi despite knowing he would be neither welcome nor helpful in any way. What would he have done anyway? Yamato was hardly the confrontational type of person and wouldn’t know what to say to Obito if he found him first. Still, there were a few things he could do to help Kakashi.

Picking up the phone again, he dialed Zetsu’s number.

He answered on what was probably the last ring. “Yamato, I _just_ told Kakashi not to worry about it.”

Kakashi had been right. It sounded loud wherever he was. “Where are you?”

“Man, if I told you Obito might actually – Obito, no!” 

Yamato heard rustling, imagining that Zetsu had just stuffed his phone in some pocket. He turned the volume up and pressed it to his ear trying to hear better.

“Fuck off, Zetsu.”

“What did you just eat?”

“Some peanuts, what do you care?” Since when had Obito ever become an asshole? Zetsu was there to help him in whatever his problem was, right?

“Maybe we should go home, Obito. We can try again tomorrow.”

“We aren’t talking about this right now. Leave me alone.”

There was a bit more rustling and Yamato thought that maybe a fight had broken   
out when Zetsu showed up on the phone. 

“Sorry, Yamato, I can’t really talk right now. I’ve sort of got my hands full.”

“Zetsu, Kakashi is about to be in Chikyū and he’s looking for you and Obito. You may as well just let him help.”

“What!? Yamato, no, you don’t get it. Right now is not the time for this. Tell Kakashi to wait in a hotel room for a day or something, but he can’t see Obito right now.”

“Why not?” The panic he heard in Zetsu’s voice was rather concerning. Zetsu wasn’t the type of person to get worked up. 

Zetsu groaned. “Obito, stop! Goddamn it, just tell him no, Yamato.”

The line went dead, leaving Yamato more confused than before. What the heck was going on, and why did it seem like things were going to start getting worse?


	16. Mess with the Bull...

“Obito?”

The other man didn’t – refused – to answer. He kept his back to Kakashi, laying sideways on the bed, and showed no sign of moving or even having heard Kakashi at all. He wasn’t asleep, Kakashi knew for fact that he wasn’t. Every time someone walked by, Obito would tense like he’s getting ready for someone to attack him. But not physically, they couldn’t reach him, but with their words. Obito may as well have been on display with Kakashi being a bonus sight. 

“Obito, I can explain everything.”

He knew the man didn’t want to hear him. After everything, Kakashi didn’t really have the right. Once again he had put himself in a situation and made things worse. Only this time, it had gone too far. 

“Listen -.”

“Enough.” He didn’t sound angry or even hurt. He just sounded…tired. And Kakashi should listen, he should respect the fact that this probably wasn’t the time or place to talk, but he couldn’t resist trying. He couldn’t stand leaving things as they were. 

Kakashi sighed, running his hand through his hair and debating his next words. What could he say? Sorry was an extreme understatement. “We can’t just leave things like this.”  
No answer. Again. Why did it feel like their progress was going backwards? Kakashi could imagine himself getting up and forcing Obito to look at him. To make him listen to Kakashi, to everything, but it wouldn’t end well. Not here. 

“Please, Obito, just let me explain.”

“No.” He answered quietly, shifting slightly. “I’m done being disappointed for a while. I don’t care.”

“But I care. Look, I know I’ve royally screwed up when it comes to you. I haven’t handled much of anything correctly, and saying sorry right now wouldn’t even cover half of what I felt. Just, while we’re here, let me explain everything to you and whatever you decide to do after, I’ll accept it.” 

Obito sat up then, turning so that he sat with his back against the white background and staring at Kakashi like he was just another part of the wall. “Why?”

“Because you need to know.” 

And yet Obito seemed like he would much rather be doing anything else. He wrapped his arms around his legs, resting his temple against his knees. It almost looked childish, the way he seemed withdrawn in himself, but Kakashi completely understood. Obito hadn’t been himself for a while now, acting in a way that no one else had ever seen him act before, and now he was locked with Kakashi where judgement was being placed upon him. There was no way he didn’t feel vulnerable, or at the least sick both physically or mentally. All Kakashi wanted to do was sit next to him, to have him within reach and let him know that he wasn’t alone. 

Right now, he probably wouldn’t let Kakashi within two feet of him. 

Obito had his eyes closed now, tightened in such a way that let Kakashi know his head was probably killing him. He didn’t need this right now, but Kakashi needed him to know. He only wished this was happening under different circumstances. 

“Do I have a choice?”

It was so quiet that if Kakashi hadn’t seen his lips move, he might not have caught the words. His heart clenched at the pain he heard in Obito’s voice and it took all he had to not reach for him. Obito still had his eyes closed, but from pain or unwillingness to look at Kakashi he couldn’t be sure. 

Though he knew Obito wasn’t watching, he nodded. “Yeah. You have a choice.”

“Really.” He breathed the word, then leaned his head against the wall, finally but just barely opening his eyes to look at Kakashi. “So if I decide to say no, you won’t say a word?”

“I…” Kakashi gave in. “Yeah.”

“Hmm.” Obito rubbed at his eyes, inhaling deeply. “Fine.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Fine.” Obito said louder though he still seemed indifferent to the situation. He stretched back onto the bed, rolling onto his back and placing his arm across his eyes. “I don’t care.”

“Maybe you should.” Another voice intruded. 

Obito remained still but Kakashi looked towards the bars of the cell. On the other side was another member of the Uchiha family, but whether he was an uncle or another distant cousin, Kakashi had no idea. What he did know was that this man had an attitude that was in no way pleasant. The way he was smirking at Obito was like a cat staring at a trapped mouse. 

“What do you want, Inabi?” Obito’s voice almost came as a groan. 

The man named Inabi laughed, tapping at the bars with his nails. “I heard you were back in town, but when Yashiro said you were here I just had to look. What did you do this time, boy? Piss in his cornflakes?”

“None of your business. Go away.”

Inabi’s grin only widened, mimicking the Cheshire cat. He turned gaze to Kakashi then, eyes narrowing curiously. “And who are you supposed to be? Obito’s newest boyfriend?”

“Inabi.” Obito warned, his tone turned dangerous. It reminded Kakashi of the previous night, only this time Obito was in control of himself. “Go away.”

“Touchy, touchy. I guess that means I was right.”

Moving quickly, Obito grabbed the small pillow he had been using and tossed it against the jail cell bars, right where Inabi’s head had been. “What part of ‘go away’ don’t you understand?” Obito snapped at him. “Or do you enjoy living up to your status of being the family’s most annoying prick?”

Inabi clenched his jaw, anger easily taking over his once amused features. “Don’t test me, boy.” 

“No, don’t test _me_. If you want to know why I’m in here so badly, why don’t you go and ask Madara? I’m sure he’s just _dying_ to tell everyone some fake story at our expense.”

“Maybe I will.” Inabi lifted his head in a very snobbish way that looked like an arrogant kid. “I’ll see if he can’t keep you in there longer. Time in here might improve your manners.”

Kakashi glanced from the jerk to Obito, sitting on the edge of the bed with his fingers clenched onto the sheets. How close was he from trying to hit Inabi through the bars? But his eyes were narrowed, not from anger but from pain. He was still recovering, and being in a room with bright white walls probably wasn’t helping. 

Luckily Inabi didn’t stay long and exited the hall making sure to slam every door on the way out. Obito flinched against the noise, pressing the heel of his palm against his head. He didn’t utter even the slightest groan as he slowly lowered himself onto the bed, his back once again to Kakashi and his forehead to the cool wall. 

It felt like all the effort Kakashi had just made was wasted now. Just when it seemed like Obito had calmed enough to listen to him, his annoying family once again found a way to ruin it. No one could blame Obito for wanting to leave this place when his family was around every corner. 

Kakashi stood up to retrieve the thrown pillow then made his way to Obito’s side. Instead of lifting Obito slightly to place it under him, Kakashi simply laid it just behind him and returned to where he had been sitting on the ground. 

The cell they had been placed in had a bed on each side against a solid wall and a small desk that was attached to the wall. The only way in and out was through the door completely made of metal bars that led into a hall. This part of the jail, according to what he had heard from their escort last night, was the least occupied of all the building. It was decided to throw them in here for an unknown amount of time so that they weren’t bothered by others who were in the jail for actually committing a crime, but he could still keep an eye on him. Seriously, what an abuse of power. 

“Still got a migraine, huh?” Kakashi said softly.

“Doesn’t matter.” Came the mumbled response. “But, please, don’t let me stop you from tell me your life story. It’s not like I can avoid you now anyway.”

Well if that wasn’t a large virtual slap to the face. But before Kakashi could even make a remark, Obito sighed and continued, “Sorry, that was uncalled for. Yes, my head is still trying to spontaneously combust.”

“Not entirely uncalled for.” Kakashi said with a small laugh. “I’ll do my best to keep this brief then.”

 

**Roughly 14 Hours Ago**

Kakashi had been walking around the city ever since checking into the hotel, trying to find any sign of Obito’s or Zetsu’s car. He had checked any sort of club, theater, bowling alley, literally anything that would have been loud this time of night. He knew cities could be large, but at this rate he wasn’t going to find anyone before the end of the night. 

Worse, he was going to get himself lost…

“You must be new.”

He paused at an alley where a barely dressed woman was leaning against the wall, toying with a lock of long red hair. Dear lord, please don’t be a prostitute. 

“That obvious?” he laughed nervously. 

She pushed off the wall and circled behind him, openly enjoying the view. “Well, there’s really not much back this way unless you plan on getting robbed. So, tell me, sweetheart, what are you doing in these parts?”

Yep, he needed to turn his happy butt right back around and head to his apartment. As much as he needed to find his friends, he would wait until morning if he absolutely needed to. It wouldn’t help anyone to get himself robbed and left abandoned. Granted it was only around eight at night and it wasn’t quite party hour so people were likely still in their apartments or houses getting ready. 

Slipping one hand into his front jean pocket, just in case he needed to protect his wallet since he had no idea who this woman was, he answered, “I’m looking for someone.”

“Oh?” She said interestingly. “What kind of someone?”

Jeez, she really was a prostitute, wasn’t she? “One of my friends.”

She got up close to him now, toying with one of the strings of his jacket. “Does your friend have a name?”

“Obito.” What was the quickest escape route away from her? She might have friends and he really didn’t want to get into an awkward situation. 

Her face dropped faster than Yamato’s jaw at a strip club. “Obito Uchiha?”

Oh, shoot. Was she a former girlfriend? “Yes?”

But a wide smile answered and she gestured towards a red door just down the alley. “What a coincidence. He’s just inside. Last I saw, he was on his fifth drink and trying to dance with his green haired friend.” She let loose a single laugh. “Though knowing him, he’s probably a lot further along by now.”

“What?” Kakashi asked, staring in disbelief. “Obito doesn’t drink.”

“Is that what he told you?” She wrapped her hand around his waist and pushed herself against him. “Come on, handsome, I’ll get you in.”

“In?”

She didn’t bother explaining as she pulled him forward towards the doors. The other side revealed one rather large man, the bouncer, who took one look at them and turned away. This woman must be a regular if they received that sort of reaction. The room itself was a backroom where loud music could be heard in the distance. This must have been the lounge portion of the club. Some people were sitting around, drinking, making out, or very close to third base. 

The woman led him through all of it like a pro, taking him straight towards another set of doors where the music seemed to be the strongest. This time the room was a large dance floor with lights beaming everywhere and practically blinding Kakashi. There was no way this could be classified as music.

The next thing he knew, the woman’s lips where at his ear. “Is that who you’re looking for, babe?”

He followed where she gestured towards the corner of the dancefloor where Zetsu seemed to be trying to insert himself between two people. One was a rather large breasted woman with long orange-brown hair who didn’t seem at all bothered by the disturbance. In fact, she just moved on to the next closest target. The other was a man with slicked black hair, matching black shirt, and ripped jeans that all looked like it had been done fairly recently. No wait, that was Obito.

“Thanks.” Kakashi said loudly to the woman, taking a step forward to head their way.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him back. “What’s wrong? Don’t want to dance with me first? I can assure you, he’s not going anywhere anytime fast.”

He knew this was going to happen. Kakashi hesitantly glanced back to her. “I have to talk to him about something really important. Is it possible that I can get back to you on that dance?”

“An IOU?” she smirked. 

Her connection to him was suddenly broken as someone walked in between them – a rather large man that Kakashi recognized instantly. “Kakuzu?” Kakashi gasped. He had not expected to see him here at all.

Kakuzu took one look at the woman and sneered at her. “Haven’t you caused enough trouble, Tayuya? Why don’t you disappear before I get one of the workers to kick you out.”

Tayuya placed her hands on her hips, frowning up at him. “You don’t even have the balls to do it yourself, do you?”

“Why would I when I can get my employees to do it for free?” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward. “And if I see you anywhere within ten feet of me again tonight, I will permanently ban you. Wouldn’t be good for your reputation if you can’t get your product out. You’re lucky I didn’t kick you out for your stunt earlier.”

Before Kakashi could ask what that even meant, Kakuzu turned on him and dug into his pockets. “Kakuzu, what the hell?” he tried to take a step back but Kakuzu already found what he wanted. Somehow a small bag of purple pills had been slipped into his pocket when he hadn’t been paying attention. Kakuzu put them back in Tayuya’s hands then shoved her off. She gracefully flipped him off before leaving, all traces of ladylike behavior gone as she vanished into the crowd. 

Then, without warning, Kakuzu turned once more to Kakashi but with a peeved look. He took Kakashi by the arm and directed him back towards the lounge room they had previously walked through. 

Not one to be led like a child, Kakashi pulled from the grip and took up the lead himself until both he and his friend were in the back. As soon as they were behind clothes doors he asked, “What was all that?”

“She’s a dealer and you were her transport. Did you honestly think she was interested in spending the night with you?” Kakuzu answered, keeping himself planted firmly between Kakashi and the door. 

Kakashi shrugged. “I thought she was a prostitute or something, but she knew Obito.”

“Of course she does. They went to school together. Now let me tell you flat out, you are not going to see Obito. Definitely not tonight and probably not tomorrow. So, where ever you are staying, you need to make your way back there and stay.”

“I’m not a dog.” Kakashi snapped. “And why is everyone intent on telling me not to see Obito. Yesterday you wouldn’t have cared.”

“Yesterday,” Kakuzu retorted, “Obito was in his right mind. I don’t know what you did, Hatake, or if you were even the main cause, but I can assure you that Obito wants nothing to do with you at the moment.”

“How would you know?”

Crossing his arms, Kakuzu answered, “I believe his words were ‘I’m so fucking done with being lied to’. Ring a bell at all?”

It did, and Kakashi felt like crap over it. He hadn’t even had the nerve to tell Obito how he felt or tell him anything from their childhood. There were chances when Obito had reached out. Their time in Chikyū for the competition, the minute he had learned that Obito was digging into his past, or any time before then when he shouldn’t have had to been prompted to say something. 

“I came to tell him the truth.” Kakashi said. 

“So you did lie to him. Fancy that.”

Now it was Kakashi’s turn to get annoyed. “It wasn’t just me, Kakuzu. Did you know he was digging into his past? I only just found out recently. And even then, he never showed an interest in any part of his life before he lost his memories. He would tell me he didn’t care or he wasn’t interested, so I didn’t say anything then. But now-.”

Kakuzu held his hand up to stop him. “Look, it’s none of my business and honestly I don’t care what relationship you did or didn’t have with him. He hasn’t told me anything, and he hasn’t told Zetsu anything. Whatever happened between you two is your business alone, but I’m telling you that nothing will be resolved tonight. Go home.”

“But he’s drinking!” Kakashi gestured towards the door that led to the person he just spent a lot of time trying to reach. “Since when does he do that? If I’ve pushed him to that, then shouldn’t I at least take some sort of responsibility in making sure he’s okay?”

“No.” Kakuzu said it like it was final. “One of my brothers owns this bar, so I can assure you he’s safe here. He’s got me and Zetsu looking after him, and the last thing he needs is the cause for his self-destruction coming in and acting like he cares.”

“I’m not acting!”

“He won’t see it like that. Fix this later, not now. Do you need me to call you a taxi, or can you find your own way out?”

Kakashi clenched his fists, so pissed off at Kakuzu and Obito and himself and everyone else in general. How had it come to this so quickly? One minute things were fine and the next he wasn’t even being allowed to see Obito? “I’ll find my own way.” Kakashi answered, though he had no intention of leaving. Absolutely none at all.

But Kakuzu took Kakashi’s words as a goodbye and nodded. “I’ll message you tomorrow and let you know how he’s doing.”

As he walked away, the only thing Kakashi could think of was running through those doors and finding Obito. He couldn’t let this end like it was. Even if Obito was drunk, he might be able to get him to listen for a minute. And if not, Kakashi would still take care of him. The situation had gotten too far for him to just leave it to their friends and wait. Somehow that felt like the coward’s way out, and Kakashi was tired of feeling useless. 

He waited a few minutes, just to see if Kakuzu was waiting at the door or watching it. As people would leave or enter, Kakashi would glance into the other room to try and catch a glimpse of where they were. He couldn’t see their exact location, though someone with green hair seemed to be in different places of the dancefloor each time. 

Eventually Kakashi snuck in after someone else, hugging the wall and weaving between individuals while keeping an eye out. He found Kakuzu instantly by the bar, talking to the waitress, and made a note to stay away from them. If Kakuzu had connections with the employees, it would be safe to avoid them too. He found a good corner that would keep him out of sight before making a better scan across the club. 

He found Zetsu next as he entered the bathroom, and then tried to locate Obito. Zetsu wouldn’t have left him alone for long in a crowd, so he had to be seated somewhere. Sure enough, in a corner table on the other side of the room, Obito sat down flipping through his phone. Wait, that wasn’t his phone. From this distance, it looked like Zetsu’s. Only he would have a bright phone case with Mario’s Piranha Plant on it. Making sure that Kakuzu was still distracted, Kakashi made his way over. 

Maneuvering through a club wasn’t as easy as it seemed in movies. People were consistently bumping into him roughly due to being completely wasted or dancing with two left feet. He was pretty sure half of them were high as well. No one could be that amazing at flashing light. 

Yet as soon as Kakashi was finally within a few feet of Obito, he froze. What was he supposed to say? He hadn’t thought of it at all; his mind had completely been on finding him. He hadn’t thought of how to start a conversation or how to approach any sort of topic. 

Either luckily or not, Obito solved it for him when he looked up and caught his eye. But there was no welcoming smile, or even a peeved glare. He just leaned back and stared, like he was trying to figure out if Kakashi was real or not. 

Well, he had to start somewhere. He made his way to stand near the table, shifting his hands into his pockets in an attempted to looked relaxed. Yeah, like he could be relaxed in a place like this. He didn’t even remotely look like he belonged. Though now he was closer, he saw some things about Obito that hadn’t been there before. Along with looking like he had been on the dancefloor for hours, part of his cheek was swollen and developing a bruise, there was dirt patches across his clothes like he had been wrestling, and the tear in his jeans revealed a cut just behind them. It was like he had been attacked, or someone had retaliated violently.

“Hey.”

Obito blinked at him, glancing up and down like he couldn’t quite figure out who Kakashi was, then frowned slightly. “Hey.”

“May I sit?”

Obito shrugged, turning his attention back to the phone. With a constant light on him, Kakashi could easily see the dilated pupils that probably came from drugs – though he really hoped not – and the red face, slow movements that came from being drunk. What exactly had Obito done to himself? Would he even know what was going on if Kakashi talked to him? 

He sat down across from his friend, regarding him wearily. “Are you okay?”

Obito blinked again, set the phone down, and sighed heavily. Instead of answering, he lowered his torso onto the table and hummed to himself. “This table is really cold.”

Kakashi casually placed his hand on the table. It felt fine to him, but he imagined it was a definite contrast to Obito’s risen body heat. “I guess. Obito, are you sure you’re okay? I’ve never seen you like this before.”

His friend tensed then slowly eased himself up. Ignoring the question, he nodded towards the crowd. “Did you come for the music?”

This conversation seemed like it was going to go so many directions and none of them logical. “No, I came to see you.”

“You saw me.”

Kakashi nodded. “Yeah, I did.”

“Hmm…good.” He staggered up out of his seat, leaning heavily on the table for support. He seemed to be watching the crowd, entranced by the light show and blur of people moving to the music. Though he didn’t seem to be watching anything in particular, just staring. He may as well have been a zombie. 

Leaning forward, Kakashi asked, “Why are you here?”

“Why are _you_ here?” Obito rounded, his tone fairly light. Surely that meant that he wasn’t mad at him, or that he was too far gone to really notice anything. He half glanced at Kakashi, reaching to poke him in the forehead. Somehow it felt like Kakashi was dealing with a child. 

He gently took Obito’s hand away from his face. “I told you, I came to see you. I wanted to talk with you.”

Obito slipped out of Kakashi’s grasp, not that he had to try that hard. “We always talk.”

“But this is important. I need to explain some things to you, but I can’t with how you are now.”

A frown came over his friend’s face, as if he were confused. “How I am?”

“How much have you had to drink, Obito?” 

There was no telling, and he doubted Obito had kept track. He lifted his hand in front of him as if trying to count only to drop it and have his frown increase. “What do you care?”

“I do care.” Kakashi assured him, standing and placing himself between Obito and the crowd. “A lot.”

That proceeded in getting a laugh out of Obito. Actually, the man before him seemed to find it the funniest thing in the word. “Really?” He asked, jabbing Kakashi not very softly in the chest. “You care, huh? Really? Right, okay.” He pushed himself from the table, using the momentum to shove Kakashi out of his way. “Thanks for that, but I’m fine.”

“Wait!” Kakashi grabbed his arm, keeping him from walking any further. “You’re not fine. This isn’t like you.”

“And you would know what I’m like, would you?” Obito rounded on him, all hint of humor lost. 

“Of course.” Kakashi said despite Obito pulling himself away. “We’re friends.”

Again Obito laughed at him, except this time it was dark. Similar to the time they were at the buffet and Obito had just admitted to hospitalizing someone. “Oh, is that what we are now?”

“I can explain that.”

“Well, I don’t want to hear it.”

He tried to keep walking away, but once again Kakashi placed himself in front. “I know you don’t, but we won’t get anywhere if we keep running away from this.”

“Running away...?” Obito mumbled, as if trying to comprehend the words.

“There are some things I’m sure we haven’t said and I’m tired of both of us keeping secrets like we’re afraid of hurting each other’s feelings or something like that.”

Obito rubbed his face his hand, becoming overwhelmed with the situation and their environment. “What secrets…”

One more time Kakashi took his arm, in a way he hoped wasn’t controlling but supportive. He had to get Obito out of here where he could sober up and get whatever toxins he put into himself out. “Come back with me. I’ll take care of you and then I swear I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

With a speed Kakashi hadn’t thought a drunk person possessed, Obito pulled back a fist and connected it to the side of Kakashi’s face. He stumbled back, tripping over someone’s foot, and hit the ground with an audible crash. 

In a heartbeat, Obito was on top of him with the front of Kakashi’s shirt in his hand, pulling him up again. “You know what? Screw you and all your fake bullshit.”

“Obito, don’t!”

Before Obito’s second fist found its target, he was quickly pulled back by Zetsu, who didn’t stop until he had thrown him back into the chair by the table. It took some effort to keep him there, but Kakashi hardly had time to see exactly how because in the next second he was being hauled to his feet. 

He had never seen Kakuzu look pissed off before, but he was getting a full view of it now. “I told you no, Kakashi.” The man growled at him. “What part of that didn’t you understand?”

By now the part of the club they were in had stopped their dancing and were watching them. No, not them. They were all watching the door. Kakashi followed their gaze towards the front door, where people were parting for someone walking in. 

“Oh no.” Kakuzu muttered, releasing Kakashi and turning back to where Zetsu was still trying to keep their drunk friend seated. “What did he do?”

But they already knew or at the least had a good guess. Zetsu glanced back at Kakuzu as if wondering why he wasn’t helping then towards the crowd. His face fell and he turned back to Obito saying something that Kakashi couldn’t quite catch. What he did catch was Obito laughing again. Had he actually lost his mind?

As the crowd parted nearby, they saw someone wearing all black except for a shiny badge reflecting the lights of the club for everyone to see. At first Kakashi believed it to be Madara, but this man seemed younger and with shorter hair. He glanced at Kakashi and Kakuzu, recognizing the latter with a small nod of his head, then went straight up to Obito and Zetsu. 

Obito shoved Zetsu away, who complied only when he was sure Obito wasn’t about to do something stupid – physically at least. Like attack a cop. “What, Madara too busy to come himself?” Obito taunted. 

Zetsu snatched his phone from the table, looking through it before being visibly distressed. “You texted your uncle? On _my_ phone? Obito, are you serious?!”

“He’s busy.” The cop smiled warmly. “It’s good to see you, nephew.”

Leaning forward on his knees, Obito responded, “Where’s Madara?”

The cop sighed. “I just said he’s busy. Did you really expect him to come all the way here just because you started sending him a bunch of cheap insults? Though, some of those insults were directed at me since we share the same mother. What’s wrong with you, kid?”

“Is he at home, or the office?” Obito ignored everything except what he wanted to hear. “He can’t keep putting me off like this.”

“Again, he’s busy.”

Obito stood again, dodging Zetsu who tried to keep him seated and almost falling because of it. His entire balance was off, but he managed to catch himself on the back of the chair. Funny enough, the cop actually look concerned. He thought Madara’s brother would be just like him with the attitude, but this guy was much gentler. He actually rushed forward to ensure Obito wouldn’t fall.

This time Kakashi saw it coming, but it wasn’t aimed at him. One second Obito had himself braced on the chair, the next he was tackling his uncle to the ground and trying to hit every part of his uncle that he could reach. Two other cops that Kakashi hadn’t seen in the crowd, to be fair they were wearing civilian clothes and their badges hidden by jackets, rushed forward and shoved Obito back on the ground.

The uncle sat up, wiping his face with the back of his hand and looking down to see blood from a probably busted lip. From this angle, it was hard to tell. 

“Obito, what are you thinking attacking a cop?” his uncle scolded. “Are you out of your mind?”

Obito just grinned. “Madara’s really protective of his adorable little brother. Maybe now he’ll stop being a coward and show himself.”

“He’s not a coward, he’s an adult doing adult work while you’re sitting here getting wasted and high.” His uncle said, climbing back to his feet. Kakashi was still amazing that he had attacked a cop just to try and get Madara to show. Of all the sensible ways to get his uncle’s attention, that was not one of them.

“Adult.” Obito scoffed. “He’s a useless excuse for an adult.”

“And you’ve got room to talk.” His uncle walked up and slapped Obito lightly on his cheek while he was still being restrained. “You’re first reaction to not getting what you want is reacting with violence.”

“That’s not true.” Kakashi stepped in, trying to get from around Kakuzu who was attempting to keep him firmly back. The man was a literal giant, but he couldn’t stop him from talking. “He’s not himself right now.”

The man hardly glanced at Kakashi before turning to his nephew. “Who’s that?”

“No one.” Obito said firmly, not acknowledging Kakashi in the slightest. 

“I’m his friend.” Kakashi finally managed to duck under Kakuzu’s arm and moved to help Obito, but one of the cops restraining his friend released him and stood to face Kakashi. “My name is Hatake Kakashi.”

“Hatake? Sakumo’s kid?” he looked between Obito and Kakashi, realization dawning over him. “Oh I get it. Obito found out about Sakumo contacting my brother.”

“You _knew_?” Obito roared at him. “Just how many people are lying to me in my life? I’m so sick of this! Get off me!” He struggled against the cop holding him down. 

“Put him in the car.” Obito’s uncle instructed. “We’ll hold him until Madara gets back.”

“Keep him where?” Kakashi asked. 

The man gave him a dull look. “Where else? He attacked a cop. He doesn’t get special treatment because he’s my nephew.”

“Take me too then.” Kakashi said quickly, despite the fact that Zetsu and Kakuzu quickly protested it. “The things Obito has to talk to Madara about concerns me to.” Plus, if he let Obito get away now then he might lose his chance. 

“No.” The uncle decided then started handing orders to the other two for getting Obito up – who was still protesting on the ground. Kakashi felt a sense of panic, turning to his other two friends for support. They seemed to be agreeing with Obito’s uncle and were offering no help on Kakashi’s behalf. If they thought it best to make Kakashi wait until after his discussion with Madara, they had another thing coming. If Obito went off on his uncle without knowing anything of their shared past, he might mistake a situation. Kakashi may not know all the details, but he wanted to be sure Obito knew everything he did at least. 

So Kakashi decided he was going to do something stupid. Like drunk Obito stupid. His father might actually kill him if this ruined his perfect track record or came back to haunt him, but if this is what it took…

“Fine.” Kakashi ran to the nearest cop and punched him as hard as he could manage. Being more trained, the man retaliated with more precision and had Kakashi on the floor in a heartbeat and prepared to fight back should Kakashi try and continue. 

The uncle groaned in frustration. “Good God.” He gestured towards their other friends. “You two staying put or are you going to try and attack a cop too?”

Kakuzu shook his head no. He would have to settle things here in the club and Zetsu had no intention of adding another arrest to his track record. “I hope you know what you’re doing.” Kakuzu muttered to Kakashi as both of them were ushered out of the club; Kakashi without handcuffs on and Obito with them since he was still issuing threats to his uncle and Madara and anyone else who came to mind. Half of them didn’t even really make sense.

Both of them were thrown into the back of Izuna’s car; Kakashi finally caught the name on the ID hanging on the review mirror. Obito, after kicking at the back of the seats in front of them for a few minutes, finally gave in and rested his forehead against the window. He became unfocused again, not really staring at anything and refusing to talk to Kakashi or his uncle. What exactly had he taken? 

Izuna talked over the radio to people back at the jail they were going to, making sure that they had a cell for them. Since he was going about it like this, Kakashi wanted to believe that this wasn’t going to go on some record. More like using family influence to borrow a cell for the night. It was probably what Obito needed, a place to rest off the drug and alcohol abuse that wouldn’t bother anyone. 

“Obito?” Kakashi tried and got ignored. His friend didn’t seem angry anymore; Kakashi wondered how much of the emotional outburst stemmed from alcohol. He doubted Obito would have attacked him otherwise. He generally had a lot more self-control and stopped himself from using his strength against those who didn’t share the same physic. Still to attack a cop even if it was family was crazy. It wasn’t the first time Obito had gone after family, even the kid he knew back in middle school would fight his cousins, but to do so on duty was asking for this. Maybe Obito knew what he was doing, or he was just lashing out at the closest person. 

They arrived about ten minutes later. Izuna didn’t bother speaking to either one of them, he probably didn’t really see a point or he didn’t want to get involved in drama that didn’t include him. Instead he led them down a few halls, without doing any sort of sign in that Kakashi had seen in movies that included mug shots or finger prints, and into a cell with two beds. Izuna took Obito’s arm from the cop that had been supporting him and helped him onto the bed, to which Obito passed out instantly on. Maybe he hadn’t been zoning out in the car after all but struggling to stay awake.

Then Izuna turned on him. “I take it I can trust you to look after him?”

Kakashi nodded, moving to sit on the opposite bed. “I’m, uh, sorry for hitting your coworker if it’s any consolation.” 

Izuna shrugged but the memory of it seemed to amuse him. “Nothing we’re not used to, and Setsuna said he was looking for some action anyway. Try not to make a habit of it. Not as many people are as forgiving as we are. Just make sure Obito doesn’t vomit all over the cell and we’ll call it even.”

Kakashi took notice of the trashcan beneath the desk at the far end of the room just in case. “I can do that.”

“Good.” He exited the cell and locked it before adding, “It sounds like Obito has a lot of things he wants to say to my brother, but if you could get him to do it in a civilized manner it would be appreciated.”

“No offense, but I don’t really hear a lot of good things about Madara. Are you sure some of the things Obito has to say aren’t warranted?”

“Who knows. My brother is a lot of things, but he never does anything without thinking it through. It’s how he got to his position so quickly. I’ll have someone bring you both some water and there will always be a guard on duty. It’s not a hotel, but let us know if you need anything.”

Kakashi was right. This uncle seemed a lot nicer than what he had seen of Madara. He thanked him before nestling himself against the wall, resolving to stay awake the entire night if need be. He had no idea what Obito took, for all he knew it was LSD or some experimental drug, and there was no telling how that would mix with alcohol. Hopefully Obito’s intake wasn’t a lot and he could sleep most of it off. Either way, he was sure when his friend woke up, he was not going to be feeling good. 

 

 **Present Again**  
Kakashi tried to remember everything as he spoke. He started at the beginning, from the very first time he met Obito in second grade. He had already told Obito most of this the last time they were in Chikyū together. He tried to tell the most meaningful moments they shared during their third and fourth grade years together. Learning to be rivals, constantly in competition with each other, and their relationship with Rin. All of their plans for the future together, like when they wanted to live in the same house with all of Kakashi’s dogs. A mansion with a different room themed for different things. 

He talked about their school life, of joining the same clubs and all their fights together. The times they went days without talking before Rin threatened their lives unless they spoke again. Of the trips they went on with their families to theme parks or the beach or to tourist cities. How over time their rivalry seemed to becoming secondary to their friendship. 

Then in fifth grade the first time Obito confessed to him and Kakashi not handling it correctly. Of their argument, the thoughts going through Kakashi’s head of how it couldn’t be real and that Obito had no idea what he was talking about. To finally realizing that he was wrong, that Obito had always had a better understanding of his feelings than Kakashi had realized. 

He told Obito of the day they started dating. The weeks that followed. How his father had found out, but they managed to keep it a secret from everyone else. Why they never told Rin. Why Kakashi still never told Rin or anyone else after because he had promised Obito all those years ago he would never tell another soul until they both agreed to. Otherwise, the rest of Obito’s family might turn against him like they feared his parents would. 

The last thing he told was the night Obito vanished. It had been so sudden; it was like any other night except for the fact that Obito just vanished from his life. He had no idea what had happened, only that he couldn’t contact Obito and no one would tell him anything. It was only after two weeks of radio silence that his father had come home saying that Obito had gone to live with family in another city, but he didn’t know with who or where. Turns out that had been a lie, but at the time Kakashi never questioned his father. But he had tried so hard to find Obito. Social media, asking friends, asking Obito’s family. That was when he had learned that Obito’s parents had passed away. 

The entire time he spoke, Obito remained quiet. Even at times that Kakashi had paused, trying to find the next thing to say, he never even moved. And when Kakashi finished, it was like he had fallen asleep. 

“I’m sorry.” Kakashi said at last, needing to get a reaction. He needed something; he’d even take anger at this point. “I should have tried harder to find you and I should have never kept this from you. I know that you don’t remember any of this, and that at first you weren’t interested, but I should have told you back at the hospital when you told me everything.”

He waited for any sort of reaction. A sigh, a small shift in movement, something to tell him that Obito was still listening. 

“Obito, please.” He begged quietly. “Say something.”

But he didn’t. However, he did move so that his hand held the back of his neck and his face was covered by the rest of his arm like he was trying to shut out the world. Kakashi agonized as the seconds turned into minutes and still nothing. There was nothing to go off, and there was no telling what was going to happen from then on. 

“What do you want me to say?” Obito said suddenly as he rolled from the bed and onto his feet, wincing slightly from his head throbbing at him painfully, then went to the desk where his water had been placed earlier in the night. He refused to even face Kakashi’s direction again. “That I forgive you? That I still have feelings for you? That we can pick up where ever we left off before I went to go live with my uncle?”

“What?”

“Or maybe you’d like a do-over. I tell you my life story from the time I woke up in the hospital with no one but my uncle there and you come to realize that I’m not the same person I used to be.”

“I didn’t expect you to be. Well, not completely.”

“Then how about we act like we never got locked in a cell. We got back to Kasai and spend the rest of our lives pretending that this never happened and move on with our lives.”

“Obito, what are you-.”

“Or,” he continued, talking over Kakashi’s interruptions. “We move on, we try dating for a while until we get so sick of each other and then find someone else. This just ends up being some weird part of our lives we look back on and laugh at for being idiots for even trying.”

“Hey,” Kakashi stood, his eyes on the cup that Obito was holding. It was now shaking so badly that the contents were spilling out. 

“There’s always the option of splitting up too. You go back to Kasai, and I’ll just go to a different city. Too much family here, too many complications there. Start over new. Again. It’s what I’m good for right? I should just get in another car wreck and forget all about this too. Why not?”

“Obito!”

“What?!” He finally turned, tossing the cup to the ground. “What do you want from me? I was unnecessarily cruel to you. I mean, I even hit you! What do I say after that? What am I _supposed_ to say after that?” He ran his hands through his hair and fell back against the wall, escaping Kakashi who had tried reach out to him. “You weren’t supposed to be there. You weren’t supposed to see me like that. That entire night was a mistake. Me going to Kasai was a mistake.”

“Stop.” Kakashi pleaded, guiding Obito’s face to look at him. “Calm down.”

“But it’s true.” He pushed Kakashi away from him, not as roughly as he had that night, and slid down onto the floor. “I’ve done nothing but make mistakes. It’s just… this isn’t even your fault. I’ve got no right to be mad at you. I was the one who pushed you away first. I told you back when I met you at the bar that I wasn’t interested and spent the entire time after that avoiding the subject. Expecting you to have told me everything isn’t fair when I was the one who didn’t want to hear it. You’ve got nothing to apologize for, yet here you are once again dealing with me.” 

He gave a hysteric laugh, gesturing around the room. “And look where I’ve dragged you. Someone like you shouldn’t be here like this. In fact, you shouldn’t even be here in the first place. I’m not worth it, Kakashi, I’m really not. I’ve done absolutely nothing to earn your friendship except for being your friend in a past that I have zero memory of. I can’t remember anything about you or Rin or any sort of relationship we may have had.”

“It’s okay.” Kakashi tried, sinking to his knees before him only to have Obito scoot away from him until he hit the side of the bed.

Obito shook his head despite Kakashi’s words. “It’s not okay. None of this is okay. It’s not even remotely close. I should have known Madara was lying to me. I should have known he was hiding something. To not have any friends? That no one would miss me if I left? Why did I believe something like that? I didn’t even look. I never tried to look. You’ve made more of an effort for me than I’ve ever made for you and I’ve spent the entire time deliberately not noticing. You’d be much better off without concerning yourself with someone like me.”

“That’s impossible.”

“No it’s not. I did it for years. I decided there was no reason for me to remember anything about my past and just moved on. I made a choice that you guys weren’t worth my efforts. Whenever Izuna or Madara or whoever comes next, I’ll just tell them to let you out and you can go home. You don’t need to be here and I don’t want you here. I’ll end up finding a new way to screw something else up and you shouldn’t have to deal with it.”

Kakashi had never seen him like this before, at least not to this extent. He had seen Obito have emotional outbursts in the past, but since they had been reunited in Kasai it was like Obito had a tighter rein on his thoughts. These must have been all the thoughts that he had been keeping to himself the entire time and Kakashi showing up last night was just a catalyst to set it all off. All the while Kakashi had thought that he was the only one not handling this emotionally well, but Obito had been having problems too. How could he not have noticed before?

With everything that had happened, Kakashi should know better than to invade Obito’s personal bubble again. But here he was, moving forward again until he sat to one side of his friends curled up form. “What do you want me to say?” Kakashi mimicked Obito’s earlier words. 

Obito just looked at him helplessly. “I don’t know.”

“Then let me sum it up to you.” He leaned back slightly, offering a wry smile. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He expected Obito to start telling him off for being an idiot and instead Obito just stood up and walked towards the door of the cell. He glanced around for a minute until he found the security camera. “Hey! Someone come unlock this door!”

Kakashi frowned slightly. “Are you trying to get out?”

“I’m trying to get _you_ out.” Obito retorted then added more loudly. “I know someone is at least watching these cells. Send someone down!”

Did he plan on facing Madara alone today? “Why?”

“Why else?” There was an echoing noise as Obito hit his head against the bars. “I told you I don’t want you here.”

“And I told you I’m not going anywhere.” Kakashi relocated to sitting on the bed, making himself relax. 

Obito growled in frustration. “Fine, then go to another cell.”

“Is that what you want?”

“I’m not a child, Kakashi, stop treating me like you’re my therapist.”

“And how does that make you feel?”

“Kakashi!” Obito snapped, glaring at him. 

Unfazed, Kakashi made a mock surrender. “I’ve already made up my mind. Until the day you find someone else, I’m going remain convinced that I’ve still got a chance.”

“A chance for what?” Obito questioned. “To be with me? After all of this, why would you even want to?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” he countered. “I mean, yeah, we’ve had problems. We don’t always see eye to eye on things, and I’ve sure never been on the bad side of a cop, but these things make life interesting. And yes, you are different from how you were when we were kids. You’ve gone through different experiences without me, but everything I liked about you before is still there plus some. To be honest, I was so tired of being too afraid to tell you anything so being in a jail cell with you and admitting everything now is coming as a relief.”

That earned him an exasperated groan. “This is all kinds of messed up.”

“Probably.” He laughed. “But I’m willing to wait for you.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“Are you telling me no?”

“I…” Obito released the bars. “I don’t know. I don’t have an answer for you. I don’t even know what to do from now on when it comes with you. I mean, what are we? Did we even ever break up? Because if not, I’ve cheated on you a lot.”

“I guess that makes us even.” Kakashi didn’t want to think of it like that; he always considered the fact that Obito never reached out as an unofficial breakup. But looking at it now with the knowledge that Obito had no memories, they could technically still be together. It didn’t matter either way. “But I think for now it’s safe to say we’re friends.”

“Then as your friend, I should still be trying to get you out of this cell.” He rubbed his forehead with a sigh. “At least that way I can have you find me headache medicine.”

With an attempt to lighten the mood, Kakashi patted the empty space next to him. As if understanding, Obito frowned. “Seriously?”

“Well, either that or you can sit and sulk on your own.”

Obito mumbled something in response that Kakashi didn’t quite catch and sat in front of him rather than beside him, resting his back against the bed just between Kakashi’s legs. As soon as he was situated, Kakashi began soothing his hands through his hair, giving something for Obito to focus on besides the throbbing of his head. He wouldn’t be able to do anything for any nausea and he didn’t have headache medicine, but until someone showed up this was the only way he knew how to help. Plus, it wasn’t the first time Obito let him do this.

Yet it was a good thing. Obito had calmed down – although still confused – but he was no longer pushing him away. It was a start. Kakashi hadn’t been lying when he said it came as a relief that he finally got to tell Obito everything. He didn’t mind having to wait for Obito’s answer, he had been waiting this long just to get this far with him. It was almost laughable at how far they had to go just to get here, but he would never say that to Obito’s face. At least not at the moment. 

“Kakashi?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think my uncle will tell us the truth?”

Kakashi couldn’t help but smile at the ‘us’ part of that statement. Guess this meant that Obito wasn’t going to try and kick him out of the cell anymore. “Assuming he tells us anything, I think he will.”

After all, what did Madara have to lie about now? They already knew that Sakumo had contacted him in the past, so all they needed was the details as to why Madara didn’t want Obito to go back. Kakashi assumed it had to do with the rest of the Uchiha family. In the past, Obito had never wanted to go to family reunions since he believed all of the others were egotistical know-it-alls. Madara might feel the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's just come to my attention that I've gotten 100+ Kudos :D Thanks so much for the support everyone! Feel free to leave any comments/reviews and such. I enjoy reading them all!


	17. ...You Get the Horns

Kakashi wasn’t sure for how long they remained in their cell together. It couldn’t have been longer than an hour or two, and the guards only came by maybe twice the entire time. While they waited for someone to come and liberate them from their cell, Obito had fallen asleep again. Drowsiness from his body fighting off the chemicals he had ingested. His head rested against Kakashi’s left knee, softly snoring as if he were at home in his own bed. 

It left a moment of silence for Kakashi to figure out just how _he_ was going to proceed. He knew Obito was terribly at odds with everything that had just happened, but Kakashi wasn’t any better off. The cool guy act aside, he had absolutely no idea what to do next. 

He had said his piece, and he knew better than to expect Obito to have any sort of answer straight away, and now it was once again a waiting game. At least this time around, Obito knew everything. 

The only thing that Kakashi regretted was not being able to talk more, to get Obito’s side of the story. What had he thought this entire time? Had he been having the same thoughts Kakashi had, or was this all a surprise? Surely he had some sort of idea that Kakashi had feelings for him, if even a gut feeling. Yet Obito had fallen asleep so quickly despite so much weighing on his mind. He really was a mystery. 

Gah, but all Kakashi could really think of right now was food. He hadn’t had much for dinner last night since trying to find Obito, and it was already almost noon. His stomach was twisting itself around, making him extremely uncomfortable. If he woke Obito up because his stomach was singing the songs of its people, he might actually die of embarrassment. Where were the prison guards? Couldn’t they bring some cheese and crackers or something – anything – other than water? Please? And the thought of picking up the cup and clinking it against the bars did not escape his mind. Forget Obito’s yelling at cameras, if Kakashi needed to resort to cartoon tactics, he would. Though, singing depressing songs was a little out of his league. No one needed to hear that. 

He felt Obito stir the moment he imagined a starved version of himself slipping through the bars and glanced down. Rubbing at his eyes, Obito pushed away from where he had been resting against Kakashi, leaning forward on his own legs. “Has no one showed up yet?”

“Not yet.” Kakashi glanced outside the cell again. “I’m beginning to think they forgot about us.”

“Unlikely.” Obito mumbled. 

“How’s your head?”

He was answered with a shrug. There was no way a hangover could have been cured by a small nap. “I’m not holding out on being better at any point today. I’ve still got another migraine to go through.”

“Another?” Kakashi questioned. “What sort of drugs did you take?”

Obito glanced back at him. “I don’t recall saying I took drugs.”

“But you’re not saying that you didn’t.”

“True.” Obito stood up, running a hand through his shaggy hair. “Man, I really need a shower…”

“After the rough time you had last night, I don’t blame you.”

“You really need to start holding me more accountable for my actions.” He glanced back again, this time followed with a grimace. “And…I’m really sorry for hitting you.”

Kakashi tried to wave the apology away. Guilty Obito didn’t look right. He would much rather his friend go back to being the confident, teasing person Kakashi knew him to be. “Don’t worry, I’ve already forgotten all about it.”

“Not for long.” He gestured toward his own face, making a small circle around the cheek bone. “You’re already forming a bruise.”

“Oh.” Crap, well that wasn’t good. All either one of them needed was for their friends to see that and then begin asking questions. Or anyone for that matter. People at his work would definitely have a thing or two to say. “Chikyū is a dangerous city. Anything can happen.”

Obito didn’t look convinced, but let it drop. He pressed against the bars, trying to see down the hall for anyone who might be coming, before turning and resting his back against it. 

Not one for letting conversation die, or for letting Obito to sink back into his thoughts, Kakashi opted for keeping the conversation going. “Quid pro quo, Clarice?”

That earned him a small smile, if even a small one. “Sure, Dr. Hannibal Lector.”

“What made you leave Chikyū?”

“I’m sure you’ve asked me this before. I told you, I wanted a change of scenery.”

“And?”

“What makes you think there’s more?”

Because there was always more. Kakuzu had connections to business owners that would keep Obito out of trouble. He had family ties to the police task force and therefore had even more outreach to any sort of connections they made with clients. He attended Madara’s formal parties which were bound to be hosted by people in high places, and the city was so full of life that there was always something to do here. Why leave for a smaller city that had only the basics of entertainment? 

Yet Kakashi just answered, “I feel there’s more to the story.”

All Obito had to do was point behind him with his thumb. “Him. Madara. And everyone else who shares the Uchiha name. There are too many of them, and I’m surprised they all got hired at the same station. I felt like the life that I was living here wasn’t my own, and that I was a puppet for everyone here.” He started counting off on one hand as if picturing family members in his mind. “More than half of them told me I should have been a policeman. You know, join the apparent family business. The other half said a lawyer since it pays more, and others simply asked why I chose to go with biologist when clearly I only had the potential to become a researcher or teacher. Only a few have ever supported my personal decisions. One being Uncle Izuna.” 

Obito hesitated a moment then groaned, covering his face with his hand. “I’m going to have to apologize to him too.”

“He seems like a nice guy.” Kakashi remembered his treatment of them last night. He had been pretty hospitable for someone throwing them in jail and was likely covering for both of them. 

“Yeah.” The Uchiha agreed, pushing away the thoughts of his actions that night. “My turn. Why do you read those perverted novels?”

“Excuse me?” Kakashi gasped, turning a few shades darker. Of all the things to bring up. “They happen to be very good.”

“They happen to be highly inappropriate to read in public, yet you seem to not care as you flaunt them around campus. Even poor Sasuke has fallen victim to its pages and I’m sure he never wants to touch another novel again.” Obito grinned. 

But Kakashi shook his head in denial. “I’ll let you borrow them. The drama, the tragedy, the untold secrets and the hidden romance will make your heart move as if it’s on a roller-coaster ride. They’re quite amazingly well written and it’s been a dream of mine to meet the author. A genius piece of work to be sure. Have you never read even the first chapter of at least one of them? The words bounce of the pages and send your mind on a vacation of vivid images and-.”

He paused to the sound of laughing. Obito was laughing behind his hand in such a way that showed he wasn’t trying to interrupt. But now that he had, “You’re obsessed with them, aren’t you?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Kakashi answered quickly. “But I do enjoy them.”

“Whatever you say. Your turn, closet pervert.”

“I am not.” Came the uttered retort. There was no closet involved. Kakashi never made any attempt to hide his preferences in literature. “Fine. Are you a dog or a cat person?”

“Cat.” Came the instant reply, followed by Obito massaging his right temple. “They’re much less high maintenance. I don’t need to ask you your type seeing as you’ve already told me you own too many dogs.”

Not enough in Kakashi’s opinion, but he had never been able to convince his dad the more the merrier. He also had every intention of reintroducing Obito to them. Although his friend didn’t remember them, he was sure all his dogs did. Especially Bull. His giant hull of a dog had a habit of always trying to sit on Obito and Kakashi was interested to see if that habit still held up after all this time.

Obito continued, “What’s your favorite type of food?”

“Fish or miso soup.” He frowned at the face Obito made at him. “What?”

“Soup is gross. It’s like watered down food that’s lying about being food.” A slow, satisfied look came over his face as he continued, “I should take you to a local restaurant around here that sells the best pancakes ever and like a hundred different flavored syrups. I only get to go there every once and a while, but they’re so good.”

Now it was Kakashi’s turn to make a face. “I don’t like sweet things.”

Obito couldn’t believe that such a heathen was sitting in front of him spouting that nonsense. “You’re missing out.”

“Sure, whatever you say. Next question: what led you to join some martial arts group?”

“I, uh,” his smile faltered a little. “I had a lot of anger issues growing up. I lashed out a lot and I wasn’t making a lot of friends. Madara pushed me to join MMA so I joined wrestling to go against him. Turns out he was right about the club I should have joined and I ended up switching later.”

“Anger issues?” He could see Obito being depressed. He had even seen that stand-offish nature when he was going through Obito’s picture album. What exactly did he have to be angry about?

“Yep.” He relocated to his own bed that way they sat across from each other. Funny how he was the one that kept moving while Kakashi was completely content with sitting and watching. Forget anger issues or depression, did Obito have some form of ADHD? “And speaking of martial arts, since when did you practice fighting? When you and I went against each other, it was clear you knew something about self-defense.”

He was avoiding Kakashi’s question which only made him more curious. “My father made me take classes when I was young. Stories from his work left him paranoid. Why did you have anger issues as a kid?”

“Dunno.” He shrugged. “Guess because I didn’t know what else to do.”

At that particular moment, they heard one of the jail doors opening. Both of them stood, expecting to see Inabi come back to taunt them some more or Izuna coming to release them, but what they got instead was the same person Obito had originally come to see: Madara. He wasn’t dressed in a police uniform, but a casual suit and tie. He glanced from one to the other, observing everything about them in one go. Their worn clothing, their physical states, and their reactions to him. Obito, surprisingly, was keeping himself as passive as he could but there was a burning in his eyes. Kakashi was more reserved, waiting to see who would be the first to speak but determined all the same to support Obito. 

“Brats.” Madara greeted, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips. “How was the night?”

There was no missing the glance passed between them which only made Madara more amused. It was like two children keeping a secret that the adult already knew. 

“Fine.” Kakashi answered finally. “Could use with some more pillows though.”

“And you, Obito? How are you feeling?”

“Sick.” The answer seemed to surprise his silver haired counterpart who instantly looked concerned. Typical child. He was ever the one to make others worry for him.  
But Madara didn’t remark on that and simply unlocked the cell door to offer them their freedom. “I assume you remember where everything is.”

Obito nodded and exited first, walking past Madara without so much of a thank you and headed towards the same way that Madara had come in. Kakashi followed like the lost boy he was, but before he could get far Madara grabbed onto the bars to use his arm to stop him. His nephew halted at once, turning an accusing look towards him that Madara ignored. 

“Keep walking, nephew, I’m not going to hurt him.”

Still Obito refused to walk and if Madara turned, he was sure he would be seeing the two boys looking at each other again. It was much like when he first met the Sakumo’s son as a kid or when they met for the second time at the casino. At first Madara hadn’t recognized him, he had long since avoided returning to Kasai or bothering with the people there, but the more he reflected on it the more he realized Obito was finding all his old friends without even meaning to. He had done exactly what he wasn’t supposed to do: dig up the past. Figures though, the child never did listen to Madara’s advice. 

“We’ll meet you in the second waiting room.” Madara decided, releasing the bar and patting Kakashi on the chest. “Your friend and I have some things to talk about without you.”

“Uncle.” Obito took a step back towards them, but something Kakashi did made him stop. Madara didn’t bother responding because he knew in the end Obito would listen to him. After all, he came here to figure out what Madara knew and there was no way he was going to disobey him now. 

Without waiting to see what the two of them discussed, Madara made for a different hall. The waiting room that they were going to was generally reserved for families, but at the time visiting hours were not in effect. The entire room would be vacant for their use, which was perfect for Madara. He had no intention of staying here long, he had too much work to do and only showed up because he knew avoiding Obito wouldn’t end well. Unlike his nephew, Madara was perfectly capable of facing his problems civilly. Obito, unfortunately, had gotten too many of his father’s traits.

He entered the room alone at first, finding a seat at the head of one of the smaller tables, and pulling out his phone to check the most recent updates from his employees. They were in the middle of working with the station in Mizu City revolving some recent murder cases. Nothing too big, they were getting close to finding the culprit, but Madara couldn’t be away too long. 

Kakashi entered not long after, also alone, and sat down in the seat to Madara’s right. Judging from his patient, observing look, Kakashi was waiting for Madara to make the first attempt at conversation. How very like Sakumo. 

“You’ve grown up well.” Madara started, setting his phone back in his pocket. Somehow the image of his raging nephew popped up into his head. When Obito had been younger – high school age – he and Madara had gotten into an argument that resulted in Madara’s phone being thrown against the wall and broken. Madara, in return, had dragged the little snot outside and handcuffed him to the closest metal pole he could find and left him there until he returned from the phone store. Now Madara never left his phone left unattended. Ah, the little paranoias he developed from raising a child. “What are you going to school for?”

“I’m on the track to becoming a vet.” Kakashi answered. “I dedicate a lot of time at the animal hospital and I’ve established a lot of connections.”

Madara nodded approvingly. Seems like he was also following a different path from his father. “Good career.”

“Is this what you wanted to talk to me about? My career choice?”

“Nope.” The older Uchiha smirked. “Actually I really don’t have anything to talk to you about. In fact, you’re free to go now. Just exit the door you walked through, take a left, then walk until you run into a man named Yashiro. He’ll make sure you get back to your hotel.”

“I don’t understand.” The younger man frowned slightly. He must have been expecting Madara to interrogate him like something out of a Hollywood movie. “Then why did you say you did?”

Clearly he didn’t know Obito that well as Madara expected him to. So much for being childhood friends. “If I had tried to send you away back at your cell, how do you think my nephew would have responded?”

He watched the realization come over the boy. “He would have told you to let me stay.”

“Indeed. Also, I had no intention of bringing that brat here just to watch him get sick all over my shoes. I’ve got a rendezvous with some colleagues, so I’d rather stay presentable.”

“He seemed fine.” Kakashi responded. 

To which Madara openly scoffed at him. “During the time he and I have lived together, he never openly told me he had a problem unless it was something he could not control. Therefore, him telling me that he felt sick meant that he was probably two minutes away from actually _being_ sick. There’s a change of clothes for him in the bathroom as well and some soap for him to shower quickly. He’ll be here within ten minutes I expect. I debated gathering your personal items from the hotel you checked into, but I figured you wouldn’t be in the same physical state as him.”

“I didn’t realize you and Obito had such a relationship. From what I’ve heard, you two don’t get along at all.”

“We don’t. We’re both simply a means to an end for each other. He becomes the respectful, dutiful nephew when I need him, and I his understanding guardian when I must. Other than that, we just happen to be occupying the same space.” He lifted his hand towards the door as if to reiterate his point once more. “Again, I have nothing to speak to you about, so you may go.”

Just like everyone else Madara came into contact with, Kakashi wasn’t handling him well. Nor was he catching the hint that Madara wanted nothing to do with him and that leaving would be a wise choice. Instead, he straightened himself as if to appear final and responded, “You might not, but until Obito tells me himself that he doesn’t want me here then I’m staying.”

Brave kid, but still foolish. Also, his word choice wasn’t well chosen. No wonder he wanted to become a vet. Anything that needed careful wording would be too difficult for him to handle. “As I recall, he already has. In fact, he’s told you twice that he doesn’t require your attendance here. Shall I rewind the tapes so you can hear it again a third time?”

“You were watching?” Kakashi gasped at him.

“This is a jail, boy. There is nothing here that escapes our notice. You two clearly had something to sort out between you, so I generously gave you the time to do so. Also, it provided some good insight for me in the meantime.”

“Let me get this straight then. You didn’t show up earlier just so he and I could talk? Why would you even care? In fact, why not talk to him sooner? There’s no point in waiting for the two of us to talk, and with how busy you always seem to be, I’m sure it was a large inconvenience.” Kakashi challenged.

Yet once again, he was missing a crucial point. “Tell me, Mr. Hatake, what do you gain by simply charging in and hoping for the best? Do you think that everything will work out just because you tried your best? How well has that worked for you so far?” Madara leaned forward then, a mocking grin revealing just what he thought of the man in front of him. “I wouldn’t try to understand how I run my life nor my work. It’s clearly outside of your comprehension. But allow me to give you a piece of advice for yours: don’t get involved in things you have no business being in. You want to be Obito’s newest BFF? Fine. You want to chase after him like a lost puppy to clear your delicate conscious? You do that. But you don’t need to be here, you don’t need to help my precious nephew dig into his past to remember you, and you absolutely do not need to be within my line of sight right now. So, again, the door is behind you. Don’t forget, left and then a man named Yashiro.”

Kakashi just stared at him, speechless. To be dismissed so easily like he was useless baggage surely came as a shock to him, but Madara didn’t mind. Just because Kakashi seemed to think that he was doing something noble didn’t mean that Madara had to treat it as such. He couldn’t stop who his nephew became friends with, nor how he handled the company he kept, but Madara could handle who came in and out of his jail. Kakashi was about to get a rude awakening if he continued to blatantly ignore Madara’s suggestion to leave. 

The entire situation was beginning to get a little annoying. Madara released a slightly aggravated breath, wondering which of his bored employees he should get in here to remove Kakashi from his sight. The last thing he wanted was to have Thing 1 and Thing 2 double team him like they had any clue who they were talking to. “As far as I’m concerned, you’ve finished what you came here to do. Why do you think that staying here is so important? Do you have some sort of delusion that Obito cannot speak to me on his own? Were you hoping to be his moral support? Hold his hand and be his knight in shining armor?”

“Obito hardly needs me for that.”

“Then _why are you here_?” Madara expressed each word by tapping on the table. 

To the boy’s credit, he didn’t falter. “I’m his friend.”

“Please.” Madara openly laughed at this. What a pitiable excuse. “Your friendship is irrelevant to the point. You may as well tell me you’re his pet dog. Let me tell you how this is going to work. Obito is going to walk into this room being the most polite person you’ve ever met simply because he wants something from me. He’s going to rein his temper and he’s going to stop you from any jump to his defense that you may attempt. In response, I’m going to get him to tell me everything that happened last night from the moment he stepped into this city.”

“And what’s the point of that?” Kakashi asked. 

“Because if you are so intent on sitting in that seat and being a part of this, you may as well get to know Obito’s mindset a little more.”

“I already-.”

“If you knew anything about my nephew, you would not be here right now. In fact, you wouldn’t even be in this situation you landed yourself in. So, do me a favor before I start listing off your mistakes that I already knew you made without even having been there. Sit down. Shut up. And do your best to not annoy me for the remainder of your visit before I decide to remove you myself.”

If Kakashi were just a few years older, that glare he was giving Madara would be the exact mirror image of his father. Madara and Sakumo would spend the longest time spatting back and forth over the proper way to approach a situation with work before coming to an agreement. The only difference here was that Madara respected Sakumo. Kakashi, on the other hand, was in the same ‘brat’ category reserved for Obito and his friends. He was someone Madara had no intention of regarding as an adult. At least not yet. Kakashi needed to land himself a respectable job and get his life together before Madara acknowledge him as anything else. Also, he needed to stop chasing after his nephew. 

He could tell that Kakashi was wanting to insult him. He was probably doing it mentally, but this time he remained silent just as Madara instructed. Good, it was a step in the right direction. Had he spoken up, Madara would have lived up to his word and tossed him right out of the building to be someone else’s problem. 

Turning his attention back to bigger issues, he consulted his email once again to respond to his colleagues. By this time tomorrow, he would be in Mizu consulting with their chief of police as well. Ah, busy times. He was waiting for the day he could pleasantly retire and live a life of relaxation, but it seemed like there was always someone needing him to do their work or requiring his advice. There was also the issue of his adorable nephew once again throwing his life into chaos all on his own. Damned brat. 

Minutes ticked by and silence hung between them in either one of two ways: pleasant for Madara and awkward for Kakashi. The boy had done nothing but observe the plain surroundings of the room or mess with his fingernails. Madara was half tempted to text the front desk to return Kakashi’s phone to him, but he considered it a small revenge to watch Kakashi try and figure out what to do with himself. Let him sit there and think for once instead of pestering Madara.

But the moment of silence didn’t last as long as Madara would have liked although it was exactly as he suspected. Obito walked into the room, fresh from the quickest shower ever done in jail and in new clothes. When he moved to Kasai, he didn’t take everything with him and many of his personal belongings were still in Madara’s guest room at home.  
He seated himself on the opposite side of the table from Kakashi, leaving them all in a triangle formation. Madara returned his phone to his pocket, which Obito didn’t fail to notice and no doubt had the same memory running through his mind, and shifted himself more comfortably. “Feel better?”

“Yeah…thanks.” He added the last word almost grudgingly but managed to keep most of it from his voice. Madara decided to ignore that since Obito was actually trying to use manners.

“Good. Now to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

Obito cast a sideways glance to Kakashi as if the silver haired man really was his moral support before answering, “I was curious about the time you decided to take me in.”

Of course he was. “Mhmm?”

“I wanted to know why you never told me about my life in Kasai.”

“I see.” Madara said casually.

Obito frowned slightly. “Well?”

“Well, I’ll tell you about what I’m curious about, Obito. See, I’ve got these strange text messages from an unknown number shortly after I told you that I was busy with work and unable to attend to your childish needs. They were rather unsightly and put me in an uncomfortable situation when I had to explain why my phone, my _work_ phone, kept going off and why I wasn’t answering it. Would you like to explain that before I decide to answer your questions?”

Obito actually had the nerve to look guilty. “I wasn’t myself.”

“You weren’t yourself?” Madara questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

“I was drunk.” Obito’s tone dropped. 

Madara made an attempt to appear shocked. “Really? I thought you told me you don’t drink anymore.”

Making his nephew pissed off was something he couldn’t help. Obito was probably holding on to his self-control by a hair, but Madara would give the boy props. He was doing well. “Yes.” He answered stiffly. 

“You must really not have been yourself.” Madara cast a sideways glance at Kakashi who seemed just as annoyed at him as Obito was. “I wonder what could have caused that.”

Obito took a deep, calming breath before he continued. “I was upset because I learned that my dearest uncle had been lying to me since the moment I came under his care along with a few other trusted individuals.” There was no missing the remorseful look in Kakashi’s eyes at that statement, but Obito continued, “I couldn’t imagine why no one could trust me with the truth about my own life, so I came to ask you directly. Safe to say I might not have handled rejection well.”

“I see.” He said again, pretending to mull over the information. “And what is it that I lied to you about?”

“You told me I had no friends in Kasai. That no one would have missed me and that staying there would only bring forth bad memories. I didn’t need anyone’s pity and starting over in Chikyū would be the best thing for me. Clearly,” he gestured towards Kakashi like he was physical proof, “You were wrong. Mr. Sakumo already told me that he found you and about your agreement. What I don’t understand is why.”

Sakumo had told him then. Madara expected that was an inevitable circumstance of Obito returning to Kasai. “You were a child, and your friend here was a child. Honestly some days you are still just that. Had you returned, how long would it have been until you tried to begin remembering everything? Sure, you would have gained memories back that were priceless, but you would have remembered everything from the car accident as well. I simply spared you from that because I can assure you that none of them were pleasant.”

“That wasn’t your choice.” 

“You _made_ it my choice.” Madara snapped at him. He looked between them, remembering the first time he had met Kakashi and seen the way the two boys had gotten along. “Do you even remember what you were like when you woke up?”

Obito hesitated a moment, unused to seeing his uncle turn serious so quickly. “I was confused.”

“You were blank, Obito. Not saying a word to anyone and completely lost. If I had thrown you back to your friends, you wouldn’t have known what to do. You would have inevitably blamed yourself for your lack of recollection and pushed yourself away. I gave you the opportunity to find yourself first. That was why I had no problem with Sakumo’s terms of releasing you after high school. By then you could handle yourself.” He scoffed at his own words. “Clearly I was wrong. Judging from last night, you are still incapable of taking care of your own problems.”

Kakashi looked ready to say something then, to give Madara some prime example as to why he was wrong, but Obito silenced him with a look. Something, again, Madara had predicted. Obito was never one to let someone else fight for him, much less against his uncle. It was quite the unspoken statement that he was even letting Kakashi be here now. The last time they were all together in the casino, Obito was quick to remove Kakashi from the situation the moment he decided to walk up. 

“Tell me something.” Madara continued, “What exactly was going through your head last night?”

“I was tired of people lying to me.”

“No,” Madara tsked him. “That is incorrect. Try again.”

Obito fell silent, confusing his friend once more. Perhaps Kakashi had believed it for that reason as well and thought Madara was trying to prompt a lie. But all it took was one look at Obito to see how unwilling he was to say anything. That in itself showed everything and it brought forth a smugness from the chief of police. “Now who’s the one lying, nephew?”

“I’m not.” But the retort sounded childish even to him.

“Yet it’s not the entire truth, is it? Enlighten me. What really set you off?”

Obito sighed, raking his hand through his hair. “I was pissed off at myself.”

“Go on.”

His nephew glared at him. “I felt extremely overwhelmed, okay? And for one night I just wanted to forget that I was the type of person that could be easily lied to and that I seem to screw up where any life choices are involved.”

“That’s not true.” Kakashi interrupted. “Not all of that was on you. I’m just as guilty for screwing things up as well.”

“Yes, yes, you’re both equally guilty.” Madara waved their pity party away. “So what next, Obito? What did your ‘trusted friends’ do then?”

“They took care of me.”

“Took care of you?” Madara couldn’t believe his nephew’s stupidity. “They enabled you. Giving you alcohol and drugs is not taking care of you.”

“That wasn’t them. That was me. By the time they found me, I was already…” he paused a minute then shook his head. “That wasn’t their fault. I got myself drunk and someone I used to know in school gave me the drugs before I could think better of it.”

Madara saw something pass over Kakashi but it was gone before Madara could get a fix on it. Had he just remembered something? Did he know who gave Obito drugs? If so, Madara might keep him around to question him. One less dealer in the city was always a positive thing. 

“If you are so intent on forgetting things, why bother trying to remember your past? Your actions are contradicting themselves, Obito.”

“I know.” His nephew growled at him. “I know I don’t make sense. I get it.”

“And this is why I kept things from you.” Madara stood up then, running his hands down his jacket to remove any wrinkles. “Because you are incapable of handling it. Honestly, after last night and your near mental breakdown in your cell, I don’t see why I owe you an explanation for anything. By your own hand, you’ve proven my point that you, after all this time, are still just a child.”

“Hang on-.”

“Kakashi.” Obito stopped him then in a lower voice added, “It’s fine.”

“Obito, you can’t be serious.”

“He is.” Madara supplied. “As am I. The next time you plan on visiting, try not to be too much of a handful. I’ve got enough on my plate without having to take care of you too.”

“Wait,” Kakashi stood up as well. “You’ve hardly explained anything. The only thing you’ve done is be a judgmental prick.”

“Kakashi!” Obito warned.

Too late. It didn’t take much to annoy Madara, and to be fair he had given Sakumo’s kid fair warning, but insulting him to his face was a good way to get your ass handed to you. Madara grabbed Kakashi’s shirt and pulled him forward so fast they almost headbutt each other. “Listen close, brat. While I like your father and highly regard his opinion, that courtesy is not passed to you. What and how I speak to my nephew is of no concern to you, and in fact you should be lucky Izuna let you stay with him last night instead of throwing you on the street. So, the next time you want to speak to me, you better do so with a more respectful tone and with better choice of words.”  
He tossed Kakashi back into his seat and faced Obito who was now on his feet as well. “Be sure to thank my brother on your way out. It is by his request that I’m here right now. Have a safe drive back to your apartment.” 

With that, he neatly tucked the chair back under the table and made for the exit. He hardly even looked at the boys on his way out, pushing them completely from his mind as it went back into work mode. 

Kakashi could hardly believe that Obito let Madara speak to him like that. No matter what Madara might have thought, Obito was no screw up. He stood up again, intent on ensuring that Obito knew that, but as soon as he lifted himself off the seat he was met with Obito smiling.

Obito. Smiling.

What?

“Let’s go home.” Obito said, slipping his hands into his pockets and glancing off to the side. “Coming here was a total waste of time.”

“That’s…” He couldn’t say it wasn’t true. Madara had been less than friendly and even less helpful. Yet what got Kakashi was everything he said was true. He gotten Obito to act a certain way and predicted everything that had happened. He really did know Obito. 

Obito shrugged. “It’s fine. I figured it was going to happen like that anyway.”

“Your uncle was out of line.”

“Not entirely.” He walked around Kakashi towards the door. “I didn’t handle any of this correctly, so I had that coming. I’ll try again another time, but I’m done for today.” He got to the doorway then paused to look over his shoulder. “Actually, I’m glad you were here.”

“Really?” Kakashi asked. He would have thought that Obito found it annoying that he kept trying to butt in. 

“Yeah.” This time, the smile was genuine. “Actually, if you hadn’t been I might have just walked out after getting changed. I knew he wasn’t going to tell me anything, not after last night. He tried to kick you out, didn’t he?”

The way these two knew each other despite claiming they had nothing to do with one another was surprising. “Yeah, he did.”

“And you didn’t leave. I’ve said it before, but you’ve done much more for me than I’ve ever done for you.”

“Are you saying it’s my fault?” Kakashi asked teasingly.

“Yep.” Obito laughed. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Completely your fault. Way to go, Kakashi.”

Kakashi sighed wistfully, reaching past Obito to get the door. “Guess I’ll just have to remove myself from the situation. Can’t have you acting responsible on my behalf.”

He had just starting pushing on the door when Obito’s hand reached around his waist. He stopped Kakashi from moving forward, hesitating to say something or offer an explanation, then stepped forward to hug him. At this point Kakashi wasn’t sure if he should hug him back for fear that he would retreat instantly. “Um…”

“Don’t read into it.” Obito responded. “It’s just…thanks for being here.”

Yeah, he could try all he wanted to not read into it but that didn’t stop his brain from going into overdrive mode. He slipped his arms around Obito’s shoulders and held him close, savoring the moment he knew shouldn’t mean anything. It was simply to provide comfort for a friend. “Anytime.”

Before Kakashi could let the memory of it all sink in, Obito was pulling away from him again and exiting through the door. Kakashi could almost entertain the idea that Obito was blushing after that, but it was hard to tell from behind him. He mentally scolded himself for thinking too much about this. It was a hug. Friends did it all the time. It was a comforting thing, and didn’t mean anything. Gah, he felt like a schoolgirl freaking out over her first crush.

That was a sobering thought. No way he was going to let his head go to the clouds over something so simple. Obito had already told him that he didn’t have an answer, and Kakashi wasn’t going to push it. Least of all today.

They followed the directions that Madara gave, although he had never told Obito which made it obvious that Obito had been here before. How many times, Kakashi wondered, to know the layout without having to ask. He doubted any of this knowledge came from wanting to visit his uncle at work. 

When they reached the front of the building, they found an older man and Izuna sitting behind the front desk, going over work that Kakashi was sure he wouldn’t understand if it was explained to him. They looked up as the boys entered, the older man remaining blank faced and the uncle grinning up at them. It seemed like his fight with Obito last night was completely forgotten and there wasn’t even a mark on him. If he had any bruises at all, they weren’t in a noticeable place. 

“Sleep well?” Izuna asked, coming from behind the counter pulling a small backpack behind him. He handed it off to Obito before leaning back on the desk. “Your sullen friend dropped that off about an hour ago and said that he had to go back to work and that he’d see you in Kasai. He also said your other friend wanted you to call. Uh, Zetsu, I think.”  
Obito was shifting through the pockets of the bag while his uncle spoke, feeling the bottom of it until he was able to pull out his phone. He clicked the power button a few times before he sighed. “It’s dead.”

“Oh, right.” Izuna leaned back and picked Kakashi’s phone from the table and handed it to him. “It was going off earlier. I think your dad was trying to get ahold of you.”

Dreading what that could have been about, Kakashi tried to turn his phone on as well. Dead. “Guess he’s going to have to wait.”

“Don’t you people have phone chargers around here?” Obito scolded them, putting his dead device into his pocket and slinging the bag over his shoulder. 

Izuna tsked him. “I told you before, we’re not a hotel. That aside, do you need a ride to your car? I’m about to head back to the office and I can drop you off on the way.”

“I didn’t drive, I took a plane.” Obito explained before turning to Kakashi. “You didn’t drive here, did you?”

“Actually I did.”

“Great.” Obito grimaced. “I owe you gas money.”

“Why is that?”

“Okay, well, maybe not you. I might owe Zetsu gas money. I’ll probably end up riding back with him since I owe him an explanation as well.”

“About that.” Izuna inched toward him like a curious child. “How’d it go with Madara? Seeing as neither one of you are making a hole in the walls or drowning each other out in yelling, I take it that it went okay?”

At this point, it wasn’t even surprising that Izuna had those kinds of thoughts. Considering Obito and Madara’s relationship with each other, and the fact that their personalities couldn’t clash any more than they already had, Kakashi could easily picture them both going at it in a shouting contest. 

But Obito shook his head at the question. “About as well as you can imagine.”

“So not at all.”

They both synchronized their sighs and even slouched in a similar way. Kakashi hid a smile behind his hand as he pretended to scratch the side of his head and turn away.  
“Thanks for the clothes, by the way. I’d rather not have to travel back in the same stuff as last night.” 

Izuna glanced at the bag Obito held and blinked. “Sure.”

“Going back to what you asked before,” Kakashi redirected the conversation, “I would love a ride back to my car. As comfortable as those beds were, I’m looking forward to being in my own apartment again.”

Laughing good naturedly, Izuna pulled his keys from his pockets and gave a small salute to his coworker behind the desk. “Alrighty then. Later, Yashiro, I’ll see you another time.” 

The man behind the counter simply waved, not bothering to look up from his computer. Izuna took no offense as he led the boys out to the same cop car they had been in that night under different circumstances. Kakashi offered the name of his hotel, which was all it took for a local of the city to know where to go, and debated extending an invite to Obito to ride back with him. Yet, on second thought, he shouldn’t. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t enjoy having his friend beside him to pass the time, but personally he wanted to be alone to think. 

He had learned a lot about Obito personally and somehow he felt like he had only done that thanks to Madara. As much of a jerk the guy might have been, not to mention self-centered and egotistical, he had been right. Kakashi didn’t know Obito’s personality at all. Every time he assumed Obito would do one thing, he did the opposite. As intriguing as that was, it was also disappointing personally. Just how long had he been projecting his own expectations upon Obito without learning anything at all? What did he even know about his friend now? Granted, a lot, but only about as much as a friend. Not a best friend, not someone who cared intimately. 

That was going to change. The moment they were back in Kasai, Kakashi was going to change things. He wasn’t going to just enjoy spending time with Obito, he was going to learn from him. He wanted to learn Obito’s passions and insecurities, to be able to earn his trust back and, hopefully, bring back the feelings that Obito once had for him.

 

Konan was furious. No, she wasn’t furious. She was beyond that. How dare he? How _dare_ he!? After all this time, after everything they had been through together, and after all the help they had given him, he chose this time to go through a relapse? 

“Calm down.” Yahiko tried to sooth her only to have her completely walk past him. 

She had been pacing the living room for a while now, muttering angrily to herself and making gestures with her arms that he was sure were anything but friendly. Konan had been like this since Zetsu called her this morning, but he had no idea why. Quite frankly it was scaring him. He might not know her friends as well as she would like, but he was pretty sure someone had just messed up big time. Thank God it wasn’t him, but he felt bad for the poor soul whoever it was. 

Konan ignored him as she went to the fridge, stared into it like it was a black hole, then shut it and continued pacing. Yahiko frowned as she repeated the action to the food cabinet, the hall closet, and then the bathroom. “Um…Are you hungry?”

“No, I’m not.” She snapped, rounding on him. “Why would you think that?”

He held his hands up instantly, surrendering before her wrath. “Just curious. I was going to make you something if you were. You seem a little, um, on edge.”

Her gaze softened at that and she came to sit next to him with a resigned breath. “I’m sorry. It’s just one of my friends isn’t doing so well right now and I’m not there to help.”

Yahiko placed his hand on her arm comfortingly, praying that her mood wouldn’t shift again. He really cared for her, but girls were confusing as hell. “I’m sure it will be alright.”

“Oh, it fucking better be.” Konan’s temper flared up again. “Because if it’s not, I’m going to beat the ever-loving _hell_ out of him. He should have come to me! Damnit, I would have known what to say!” She raised her fists up threateningly in the air. “Instead he seems to think he can handle it all on his own and then fails miserably!”

The poor man. “Am I allowed to ask who?”

“ _Obito_.” She growled his name. 

Oh no. Not her roommate. The doomed boy had nowhere to go and Yahiko had no way of giving him a heads up. They never exchanged phone numbers and he was sure Konan might kill him if he went through hers. Some things weren’t meant to be touched that belonged to a woman. A phone, purse, make-up, and anything regarding a woman’s ‘time of month’ were among the few. You’d never know how they would react.

“He’ll be home soon.” He comforted. “And then you can give him a piece of your mind.”

“He’s going to get an earful.” She jumped up again, resuming her pacing as she plotted his demise. “He promised me he would never do this again, so he better come in here on his knees begging for me to forgive him. I’m going to make him suffer my rage a thousand times over before I forgive him.”

Oh yeah, she could be super scary. He needed to direct her anger elsewhere before she took a knife to the pillow cases or something – not that he thought she would, but it was funny to think about. Imagine it, feathers flying everywhere. 

He decided to pull the boyfriend card. “You know, I’m glad he’s got you to care for him. You guys are really close; it almost makes me jealous.”

She froze.

He continued, “I mean, how long were you guys together? As friends, I mean. Years, right? You all probably know each other’s deepest darkest secrets and have secret handshakes.”

Konan was sitting down next to him in a heartbeat, grabbing his hand in hers and the fury in her eyes completely replaced with concern. “It’s not like that.” She assured him. “We’re just friends, and I’m worried about him. Zetsu promised me that everything was fine, but I can’t help but wish I had known so I could have helped.”

He pinched her cheek lovingly, grinning in spite of her fears. “I know, hun. I just don’t like seeing you get so worked up. Take a breath, I’ll make us something to eat for lunch, and you can destroy him when he gets home. Trust your friends, I’m sure he’s fine.”

When a slow smile came across her face, he knew he succeeded. Yes, score one boyfriend point. He kissed her forehead then left her to calm down on her own as he went to raid their fridge. They had made chicken salad last night, but now was not the time for leftovers. He found some steaks instead, they were probably Obito’s, and went to find the closest pan that could cook them correctly. 

Every once and a while he glanced back at her to make sure she was okay. She had her feet curled under her and her attention on her phone. Part of him wondered if she was trying to contact Zetsu or Obito again, but when he leaned over the island in the kitchen, he saw she was on Pinterest. He could laugh at that, but he recognized it as a way she was relaxing her wired nerves. 

When the steaks were about half done, he scouted the cabinets next and found some green beans and corn. Not exactly comfort food, but he was starving and he doubted Konan would complain. Shame on him for putting his own stomach first, but he couldn’t help it. It was steak. Steak he didn’t have to pay for. And Obito deserved to have his food eaten for putting Konan through so much trouble. 

“What did he do?” Yahiko asked as he got two separate pots out for the side dishes. “Obito, that is.”

Her tone was much more calm when she answered. “He got drunk and that bitch Tayuya slipped him drugs before Zetsu realized what was going on.”

The drugs he could understand were a bad thing, but alcohol? “Was he a former alcoholic?”

Konan made an ‘ehhh’ noise. “Not exactly. He’s just got a history of depression problems and seeing as alcohol is a depressant… They don’t mix. He used to be really bad back when we were in high school, but he managed to work through a lot of it. It’s why he doesn’t drink anymore because he knows what it does to him.”

“And drugs?”

“He’s never been into them. Tried them once when Zetsu used to deal, but he was never an actual user.”

Yahiko frowned. “Then shouldn’t he know to stay away from them?”

“He should, but I can only imagine he was already drunk when Tayuya got ahold of him.”

He leaned over the island again, resting his head in his hands as he observed her annoyed look. She really was the most adorable woman he had ever encountered. How could she make pissed off look so attractive? “I take it she’s no friend. How do you think she got him to take them?”

Konan gave him a ‘duh’ look. “She kissed him. She and Obito have a history that didn’t last long. Of course, that was before he met us. If I ever see her again-.”

“You’ll probably tear her hair out and toss her in the nearest lake.” Yahiko laughed. 

She joined in, nodding. “Probably. You’ll bail me out of jail, won’t you?”

“Are you kidding me?” He teased, returning to the steaks. “I’ll be right next to you in that cell. No way am I missing the fun.”

“You’re such a sweetheart.” She mused and joined him in the kitchen. “Tell me what you think of this dress.”

He glanced at her phone screen at a black and blue faded dress with matching shoes. “Are you going to a party?”

“No, but it’s really pretty.”

Yahiko would never understand why girls wanted to purchase expensive dresses for one time uses. Or even look for fun. If it were him, he’d much rather have something that he could use over and over again. New dishes, a nice book, a new car, or sunglasses. If people had money to blow for fun, they could be using it to help others who weren’t as fortunate. 

Before he could scold her on the idea of wasting finances, the front door opened. Seeing as it had been previously locked, thanks to Konan and her paranoia about robbers, there was only one person it could have been. Konan’s face fell instantly and she cast her phone aside before heading there. He turned the stove to a lower setting and followed.

Just as he turned the corner, he heard the sound of Obito being slapped so hard he was sure Konan might have loosened some teeth. In the background, he saw Kakashi flinching as well. Obito had only just opened the door and he was still holding it propped open with one hand. The other was holding the side of his already red face, staring wide eyed at Konan like he couldn’t believe what she just did. Seriously, the poor guy. He already looked like he had gone through hell. There were tired bags under his eyes and although he looked clean, it was obvious he was unwell. The way he held himself even seemed to scream sick and tired. 

“You…you…” Konan looked at him, shaking. “You complete… utter… you…” She ran forward and threw her arms around his neck. Talk about a mood swing of emotions.  
Under any other circumstance he would have been extremely jealous of seeing his girlfriend holding any other man but him, yet he understood that these two were close. Almost like siblings. 

Obito remained dumbfounded a second longer before he released the door, catching it with his foot so it wouldn’t hit them, and hugged her back, burying his face against the side of her neck. The way they held each other was like they were afraid to let go; as if their actions were saying everything that they weren’t speaking aloud. Konan showing how much she was worried for him and Obito how much he needed comfort. What exactly had he gone through?

They remained like that for the longest time before he gently pulled away from her. Her handprint was firmly fixed on the side of his face which was highly amusing to Yahiko. “I’m sorry.” Even his voice sounded exhausted. “I deserved that.”

“Damn right you do.” Konan scolded him and pointed behind her. “Now get in here and sit your happy butt down until I decide what to do with you. And _you_.” She brushed past her roommate and rounded on Kakashi who took a step back, hitting the railing to the staircase. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going after him? You should have told me!”

“Sorry.” Kakashi said quickly. “I really wasn’t thinking about anyone else.”

Konan only seemed annoyed at those words. Obito, however, faced away from them with an additional red coming to his cheeks. At least, until he saw Yahiko was in the apartment. Releasing the door and removing Yahiko’s view to Konan and Kakashi outside, Obito finished making his way down the hall and through the kitchen to his room. He froze at the stove and frowned.

“Are those my steaks?”

“Thought they were Konan’s.” Yahiko lied. “Sorry about that.”

Obito groaned. “Damn, I was saving those. Oh well.”

“Would you like for me to make you something? No offense, man, but you don’t look so good.”

“Nah.” Obito continued towards his room. “I just want to go to sleep.”

“I’ll make sure Konan doesn’t run in there after you.”

“Appreciate it.” Came the response before the door closed. 

Yahiko felt for the guy. He had no idea what Obito had gone through, or how it involved Kakashi or Zetsu at all, but it wasn’t in him to let a man suffer alone. Hopefully when Obito came out of his room again, he’d be more willing to reach out or feel better at least. 

Konan burst back into the apartment a heartbeat later and scanned the apartment in one swift look. “Where is he?”

“He went to his room.”

“I told him not to.” She made for his door, but Yahiko grabbed her around the waist and held her back. 

Yahiko might not be close with Obito, but he could recognize when a man needed space. Bros had to look out for each other from time to time. “Let’s leave him alone for now. He’s tired and your mad and both of you need a moment to breath. He’s not going anywhere.”

She frowned but didn’t argue. “I guess. But he better have a really good reason for all of this or he’s going out the window.”

“I’ll throw him out myself for making my girl worry.” He released her then reached for where he knew the plates where. “Can you grab some silverware?”

“Sure thing.” She grabbed some napkins and the correct utensils then slapped his butt on the way to the table. 

Yahiko passed her a smirk. “You got a thing for slapping people?”

“It’s how I show my affection.” Konan laughed. 

So long as she never hit him as hard as she did Obito, Yahiko didn’t mind in the slightest.


	18. Baby Steps

“Whenever you’re ready to blow up Chikyū’s police station in a blazing glory and roast marshmallows, give me a call. I know a guy.”

Obito shook his head at Deidara’s casual attempt to cheer him up even though he didn’t really need it. “Yeah, _you_ are the guy.”

“Shh.” Deidara covered his lips with one finger. “Not at my work.”

Having just got off his late night/early morning shift, Obito had decided to come and see Deidara at the gallery he worked at. Nowhere close to a famous one, this gallery hosted artwork from local artists or Konoha University. Sometimes Deidara would sneak his own artwork in just to see how long it took for his boss to notice. Luckily, the woman he worked for was an aged lady and never paid attention, so Deidara got plenty of recognition from viewers when he wanted. 

At the moment, they had been talking of Obito’s most recent adventures with his uncle and Kakashi’s confession. He had no idea if Kakashi meant for it to be between them or not, but he figured everyone would find out eventually. Rather it come from the horse’s mouth than through the grapevine. 

They had stopped in front of a still painting of a woman, pretending like Deidara was giving the history for it. His boss was in the back room on break, so they had a few more minutes of casual conversation before Obito had to leave. 

“What did you tell him?”

“Who? Madara?”

“No.” Deidara gave him a dull look. “Kakashi. What did you tell him after he told you everything?”

“Uh…” Obito glanced towards another painting. “I didn’t have an answer for him.”

“What?!” Deidara quickly slapped his hand over his mouth, looked around to see if he had bothered anyone, then grabbed Obito and led him to another part of the gallery. A place where their conversation wouldn’t echo off every single wall. “Why not? I thought you were into him.”

“I am. I mean, I was. I don’t know.” He groaned. “It’s complicated.”

His friend didn’t believe him, as demonstrated through a stern look and crossed arms. Really, Deidara was the least threatening thing in Obito’s life, but props for trying. “Complicated would be he cheated on you with your sister and yet you still love him. My man Kakashi willingly went to jail with you. Internet best friend jokes aside, that says a lot. What’s so complicated?”

“Because we used to date each other, Deidara. Back when we were in middle school. Apparently, according to him and his father, he was my first boyfriend. I don’t remember any of that.”

“Oh.” Deidara leaned against the wall, nodding in understanding. Then quickly pushed off the wall and brushed his suit he was wearing. The gallery had strict rules about presentation. “Yeah, I see why that’s an issue. You’re worried that he’s acting off past feelings?”

“There’s that,” Obito admitted, “And then there’s me. What if we do start dating, and I’m a completely different person than who I used to be. I don’t want to be heartbroken because I can’t live up to his expectations.”

“I don’t think Kakashi expects you to be anyone but you.”

“I _hit_ him. At the bar that I went to. I was so incredibly screwed up and I hit him.”

“True,” Deidara chuckled, slightly annoying Obito who didn’t see the humor. “But he still followed you after that, didn’t he? I think if he can handle you at your worst, then he can handle you at your best.”

While that was true, Obito had no intention of being a charity project. He knew he had problems and that he lashed out at others a lot. It was why he had broken up with Konan back when they were in high school together. She had seen his worst too and handled it, but then she tried to constantly fix him. Suggesting therapy, trying to find him alternatives to vent, or treating him like a child when she didn’t mean to. He knew she was acting in his best interest, but it had gotten to be too much. Would Kakashi be the same? He was already trying to jump to Obito’s defense all the time when Obito hadn’t bothered doing the same. In fact, he had hardly done anything for Kakashi.

“I think he’s a masochist.” Obito muttered, unaware he had said it out loud until Deidara was laughing next to him. He punched Deidara lightly on the chest with a frown. “Shut up, it’s not funny.”

“It is a little.” Deidara sobered then broke down again. “Sorry, I’m just thinking that if that was the case, he should be talking to Kakuzu instead of you.”

Not the thought that Obito wanted in his head. They all had nightmares about Kakuzu’s hidden interests and, not being into that, Obito didn’t need a reminder. He relocated them again to another artwork, this time a more scenery type. “I’ve already got Konan’s, Zetsu’s, and Kisame’s opinion on this matter. Care to share yours, or are you going to tell me to do what I want?”

“You already know my opinion.” Deidara answered. “I think girls are much more preferable. I got no advice when it comes to dudes.”

“Of course.” Obito sighed. It would be so much easier of some god popped out of nowhere and told him whether or not it would end well if he tried. 

Deidara wrapped his arm around Obito’s shoulders and leaned in to whisper, “But, again brother, if tries anything sketch I can blow up his house. I know a guy.”

“What is it with you and blowing things up?” Obito finally laughed, shoving him off. He was beginning to think his friend was an arsonist. 

His friend shrugged. “I think art is something that only lasts a moment. I can’t tell you how much it bothers me that people just leave it here to sit and forget about. It’s like, you experience these emotions so fleetingly and in the moment, it’s the best thing you can imagine. It’s never the same twice. When you come back, it’s so boring. Art should be instant, not forever. Like a firework!”

“Don’t let Sasori hear you say that.” Obito warned. “You know he’s got his own opinions.”

“And he’s wrong.” Deidara retorted. “He’s got his view of art all backwards. I’ll persuade him one day.”

Or Sasori might kill him. These two were way too passionate about how they discussed art. More than once Obito and the rest of their friends had to find ways to shut them up or they would spend the entire day arguing. 

“Hello, boys.”

They both froze as they saw Deidara’s boss walk up. Deidara instantly straightened up entering his work persona while Obito tried to look a little more presentable. He had picked a fine day for wearing his work gear out and about. Jeans and a Slug Bar shirt. Yeah, he totally belonged here. 

But the woman didn’t seem the least bit bothered by him as she smiled warmly. “I hope you don’t mind, but I caught the tail end of your conversation. You know another person interested in art?”

Deidara and Obito glanced at each other, wondering just how much she had heard. Obito answered for both of them, “Yeah, a friend of ours named Sasori. In fact, you’ve got one of his art pieces up near the front. The one with the large hand holding up a bunch of mechanized marionettes.” 

“Oh yes, a very fine piece. Deidara, have you told him about the art contest we are going to be hosting next month?”

“I was getting around to it.” Deidara said nervously. 

“It’ll be a good one with how many artists are sprouting up around here. You’re more than welcome to join too, dear.” 

Obito could hardly even draw a stick figure. There was no way he had any chance of joining or even winning any sort of competition that required art. “I’ll think about it, thanks.”

“And if you don’t mine my saying, I believe you should give this Kakashi fellow a chance.” She patted his arm comfortingly while his eyes went wide. “He sounds like such a good boy.”

Deidara hid his face, and his laughter, behind his hands while Obito’s became inflamed. “Uh, yeah, I’ll think about that too.”

“Right, well I’ll leave you boys to finish walking around. Do share the news with your friends.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Obito watched her head back to the front of the gallery where he welcome desk was before turning to his friend in shocked horror. “Is she a ninja?!” he whispered to him in a rushed voice. “Where was she hiding to hear all that?!”

“I’ve no idea.” Deidara said between smothered laughs. “But my day has been made.”

Obito was ready to channel his inner ostrich and hide his head in the ground. To receive advice out of the blue from a woman he didn’t know. He could die. 

He allowed Deidara to guide him around the rest of the gallery to satisfy the whims of his boss despite knowing that Obito had no interest in any of it. He stopped at his own art piece longer than anything else and explained the emotion behind it and the meaning behind the brush strokes. He then proceeded to say that when he got it back, he was going to use it to fuel a fire and make a barbeque. 

Oddly enough, this was how Obito got one of Deidara’s pictures to hang about his bed. It was one of Deidara’s most time invested pieces and he was about to throw it in their school’s bonfire for spirit week when Obito had saved it. So long as Deidara never had to look at it again, he didn’t care. If Obito had to choose which definition of art was the best, he would go with Sasori’s any day. Some things were too beautiful to destroy. 

When they reached the front of the store again, Obito bid them both farewell before running to his truck. The last thing he wanted was to receive more life advice from the woman or have her learn anything more about him. Hopefully she would target Deidara instead. The boy needed some humility in his life. He drove until he got to a local diner and found himself a window seat. It was getting close to lunchtime and Obito hadn’t eaten anything since he had gotten off work. He might actually crash on the couch when he got back to the apartment. Night shifts sucked especially when he only had a few hours to recuperate since he had class tomorrow. 

Not really paying attention, he ordered the first thing of curry he saw that looked good and some water then glanced over his phone. He wasn’t one for game apps, but at times like this he wished he was. He scrolled through Twitter for a while and all the athletes he followed until the song Dumb Love by Sean Kingston blasted from the speakers on his phone and Kakashi’s face lit up his screen. 

Panicking to shut it up before it caused a scene – how did the volume get so high? – he quickly answered, “Is this your idea of a joke?”

“What?” Came the baffled answer. 

“Changing my ringtone.” Obito answered. 

“You too? Someone has been changing mine as well.” Kakashi hummed to himself over the phone. “Anyway, that’s not why I called. Where are you?”

Wait, so it wasn’t just Obito’s phone who had his ringtone changed? What a dumb prank. “At Sanshō’s Diner. Why?”

“Okay, see you soon then.”

He hung up before answering Obito question, leaving the latter particularly confused. There was no reason for Kakashi to come here in such a rush. Surely his father was going to get out of the hospital soon and there wasn’t anything special going on with their classes or work. That only left the option he wanted to talk about what happened with Madara. Yet he didn’t sound serious, he had sounded rushed. Excited?

Obito pushed it from his mind as the waiter came up and handed him a glass of water. He swirled the straw around in it, going back over his phone. Looked like there was a bodybuilding competition that a few of them were going to be joining. Obito had seen that Konoha had hosted some in the past, but it might be worth looking into to join himself. Obito might not be as huge as a mountain, but he wasn’t a small guy. Finding shirts was always a pain that didn’t constrict his arms or make it look like he was trying to show off his abs. While being oogled by people was fun, it could get rather annoying in public. 

A ring of the door announced the entrance of Kakashi a few minutes later. Obito waved him over just as the waiter came to give him his food. The smell of the spices hit Obito before he had even taken a fork to it and he turned to the waiter. “What exactly did I order?”

“The Curry of Life, sir.” The waiter answered. “It’s one of our house specials.”

“You like spicy stuff?” Kakashi asked, planting himself in the opposite seat. “Because that’s supposed to be really hot.”

Great. Obito just had to pick something that was going to kill him before he ever got home. This was perfect. “I’ll be fine. Did you want anything?”

Kakashi shook his head at the offer and the waiter left them alone. “I know you haven’t had a whole lot of time to think about everything that happened the other day, but I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me this weekend.”

Unfortunately, Obito had decided at that moment that instead of poke at his food he was going to suck it up like a man and eat it. Poor choice because as soon as the words left Kakashi’s lips, he started choking. One, because that had been totally unexpected. Kakashi had been so reserved this entire time that they had been friends, he hadn’t expected him to be this forward. And two, dear god his face might melt off. What was in this stuff?!

He downed half his glass of water and wiped his eyes on the back of his hand before they had a chance to tear up too badly. He should really start making a tally of how many times he could embarrass himself in one day. 

Kakashi offered him a napkin, looking halfway between worried and concerned. “I did say it was hot.”

“Shut up.” Came Obito’s struggled reply. He set the spoon down and cleared his throat. “Where did that even come from?”

“I don’t expect you to fall for me just because I told you my feelings for you. You don’t even have to give me an answer yet, but let me take you out for dinner and a movie.” Kakashi said quickly. “It’ll be fun, and I’ll pay for everything.”

No wonder he wanted to know where Obito was. If he had asked over text or a phone call, Obito might had been able to come up with an excuse to not go. Being here now, Obito couldn’t think of a valid reason. As far as he knew, he didn’t work until Sunday night which left two weekend nights open. Meanwhile, Obito hadn’t made any plans with their other friends, and maybe he should have. He had been avoiding thinking too much about what Kakashi had told him all week, wanting only to hear what others suggested that he should do. How childish was that?

“You can say no.” Kakashi added, a little hesitantly. “I don’t want to rush anything with you.”

Did he have to be so nice about it? Of course, he was thinking about Obito’s feelings in all of this, trying not to freak him out or anything while Obito was only thinking of himself. “What movie?”

“Is that a yes?”

Oh no, could he look any more excited? His eyes were practically sparkling with hope and the way he unconsciously leaned forward. Obito felt his reluctance ebbing away the more he looked at the way Kakashi seemed to be hanging on any word Obito might say. Really, how was he supposed to say no that face?

“I think so long as I don’t end up in the news for choking to death on curry, I’m in.”

“Really?” 

He wasn’t sure who was more shocked as he acceptance: him or Kakashi who was like a child who just told he was going to Disney Land. “Yes, Kakashi, I’ll go on a date with you.”

“Great!” Kakashi jumped up from his seat then with something of a bounce in his step. “Is Friday okay with you?”

“Sure.” 

“Okay, cool. I’ll see you later, Obito. I’ve got some planning to do.”

“Wait!” Obito said quickly, trying to catch him before he left. “Where are we going?”

Kakashi just beamed at him from the doorway. “Surprise.” He answered vaguely then left quickly. 

Obito watched him from the window as that brilliance seemed to leak from him. Others regarded him curiously as he went down the streets no doubt with a huge smile on his face, acting like he was on top of the world. Honestly Obito hadn’t expected him to be _that_ happy over something like a date. Surely he had been on those before. Kakashi was a highly attractive guy, he must have had plenty of significant others in the past. 

“Sir?”

Not realizing he had been dazing with a dorky looking grin on his face, Obito turned to the waiter who placed a glass of milk on his table. “This might help with the spices.” The man informed him. 

“Thanks.” A quick glance around the diner revealed that a lot of people had just witnessed everything that happened. Jeez, he really did need a tally mark for his life. 

To not appear as a quitter, he tried his best to finish the curry as quickly as he could. That way, the burn wouldn’t have time to cool off before he shoveled more food in. It was the worst experience he’s ever forced himself to go through – and he would know. He was in an MMA club. It felt like he was shoving hot coals into his mouth and at some point, he couldn’t even taste it anymore. He couldn’t imagine anyone who would willingly buy this meal. Granted, it looked great when he pointed at the picture, but it was one of the world’s greatest lies. 

But in a positive light, he had a date this weekend. It had been a while since he was on a legit one, the night with Shizune aside, and to top it off it was with Kakashi. The weird thing was that they weren’t dating first. Obito had never been on a date when he wasn’t with someone he could classify as a boyfriend or girlfriend. Anything else just felt like it was a hangout with a friend.

He really hoped that it wouldn’t be the case this Friday.

Oh wait.

This was just now sinking in. For real this time.

He had a date with _Kakashi_. Kakashi! He had said yes to Kakashi. Obito covered his face, trying to come to terms with that fact. He had said yes to Kakashi. The same guy he met in a bar and nearly attacked. The same guy he learned was a childhood friend, who he had befriended over the course of a semester and a half. Same guy who, one by one, was slowly learning all the things about him that he tried to keep to himself. 

“Oh my god.” He breathed into his palms. What on earth had possessed him to say yes? It couldn’t be that Kakashi was totally his type, or that the guy was constantly doing everything to put Obito first. It couldn’t be that Obito was probably harboring feelings for him and denying it every time they appeared. That definitely couldn’t be it. 

It was the free food. Had to be. He was just going to be hanging out with a friend for the night. A friend who admittedly liked him…and seemingly had no flaws…and was probably the most perfect person on the planet right now…

“Oh my god.” Obito said again, putting money on the table that covered well beyond what the meal cost and left the diner in a hurry. There was no way he was thinking about this. He wasn’t going to think about this right now. He would deal with it as it came, but right now he needed sleep. Clearly he was overthinking the entire situation because he was tired and this would all make sense after a nap. Under no normal circumstances would he have ever considered the possibility of dating Kakashi. He was only freaking out about this because he had actually said yes without thinking it through first. Obito always thought things through first – okay, well not all the time, but things with Kakashi he did! Well except that time he should have said no to kissing Kakashi on his birthday, or the time when they were stuck in a closet together and all he could think about was leaning forward and-

Noooooooope. Not going to think about that. Car. Where was the car? He had already walked past it. Well past it.

He cursed himself and turned around back down the sidewalk. “Stop freaking out about this, you idiot.” He muttered to himself, searching his pockets for his keys and nearly smacking his head climbing into his car. 

Obito took a minute to brace his forehead against the steering wheel, bringing forth images of fighting moves in his head. If he focused on fighting, strategizing, or literally anything else he might make it home without daydreaming into a pole. The last thing anyone needed was to have to visit the hospital again for friend being in a car crash. 

Okay, time to go home. Konan might be there, waiting to scold him again, but maybe she would be more lenient on him if she saw how tired he was. Yesterday before work, she woke him up to a homecooked breakfast – an apology for hitting him. Granted he had that one coming. He had promised her that he wouldn’t let himself sink that low again. Only she, Nagato, and Zetsu had ever seen how far he had gotten before – he had been in worse places than the night Kakashi found him at the club – and he had planned on keeping it that way. Their time in the city had been a mistake because he had decided to act irrationally without thinking how it might affect his friends. 

Konan had been right. He had been thinking selfishly the entire time. It was no wonder Madara didn’t want to tell him anything and he was always treated like a child. Moving away from Chikyū hadn’t made him grow up at all. While he wanted to change that, he wasn’t entirely sure how to go about actually doing that. At this rate, Kakashi was going to be making all the first movies before Obito did.

And by that he meant at establishing a relationship. Not like dating, but like better friends. Maybe. He didn’t know and dang it now he was back on this subject. He threw the car into reverse and made his way instantly into traffic.

 

“Dear lord, I wasn’t aware I had such a girl for a roommate. Would you like me to do your make up too?”

Obito popped his head from his closet and glared at Konan who was inspecting his room with much judgement. “I don’t remember asking you for your opinion.”

“Do you need it?” Konan gestured around the room. “You seem to be riding the struggle bus pretty hard.”

“…Maybe.” He vanished inside the closet once again. “I can’t find anything to wear.”

Konan took a moment to be amused before joining him within the cramped space. He wore a pair of jeans that he had yet to even finish putting on yet and no shirt, running through all his clothes. A good half of his wardrobe was on the floor or bed and the closet itself was extremely disorganized. She shoved him aside with strict instructions to zip his pants up while she tried to find a nice shirt for him.

Obito had been antsy all during the day, not even being able to focus on video games which was his usual go to for relaxation. It took Konan a solid hour of interrogating him to figure out he had a date and from the minute the words left his mouth, he had run to his room trying to figure out how he was going to dress. 

“What about this?” she asked, holding up one of his shirts that she knew was a favorite. It had his family logo on the back and was a mixture of blue and orange. 

He shook his head. “All I need is a reminder of how much my family dislike any choice I make while I’m going out with him.”

“This one?” She pulled out a simple dark green button up that he had worn to school presentations. 

Again, he declined it. “Too dress up.”

She groaned at him as she went back to searching. “This isn’t an interview for a job, Obito, he doesn’t care what you wear. 

“But I care!” He protested. “He hasn’t even told me where we are going aside from dinner and movie. What if he tries to bring me to some fancy restaurant?”

Yeah, like Kakashi would do that on their first date. That seemed more like an anniversary type deal. Then again, it was Kakashi and he might be out to impress Obito. She could see where the concern was. 

She picked out a black shirt with the Akatsuki symbol on the back that had dark red sleeves and tossed it at him before finding matching shoes and sending those right after. “Put those on.” When Obito looked ready to criticize her choice she added, “No, I don’t want to hear it. You’re overthinking and if you had it your way, you’d be in here forever. Now put those on.”

He frowned at her but obeyed. 

As soon as he had the shirt on and went for the shoes, she grabbed any hair product he had, which wasn’t much, and got to work on the rest of him. His hair had a natural spikey affect to it, but she was going to do her best at controlling them. That way it didn’t look like he had been blow drying his head upside down. 

“Remember your manners when you’re out.” Konan teased, losing the fight against his dark spikes. 

Obito openly scoffed at her. “What are those?” 

“I think that’s when you take the food and run so you don’t have to pay the bill. Then again, he’s already offered to pay.”

“There’s no way I’m letting him pay for everything.”

“Oh, yes you are. You’re the one that got asked out and he’s already said he’s going to cover it. Don’t be rude by trying to take over.”

“Is that considered rude?”

“Probably, but you can cover the next date.”

She could all but see his nerves get the best of him again. Poor idiot probably hadn’t even entertained the thought of a second date because he had been so focused on the current one. Kudos to him for focusing on the now, but he could at least try and imagine a life where he wasn’t single forever. He had a good thing going for him right now and she’d be a terrible friend to see him waste it. 

She squished his face, smearing the hair product across his cheeks much to his disgust. “You’re going to have a fun night, Obito, stop fretting.”

“I’m not an old woman. I don’t fret.” He lied, pulling away and heading towards the bathroom to wipe it off. 

He could try and deny it all he wanted, but she didn’t miss those moments he tried to hide where he became all unfocused and let his mind wander. It was particularly obvious when he let the hand towel linger over his face and sigh. She shook her head at him, knowing he wasn’t paying attention. For someone his age to let something as trivial as a date get to him this much almost made her jealous. He hadn’t been like this when they dating. Excited and happy, sure, but not completely infatuated. 

“Should I go too? I can be in the background with big signs to remind you what to say.”

“I don’t think I’ll need that.” He pulled himself back to the present. “At least, I seriously hope not.”

“I’ll get suggestions from Kisame and Zetsu.”

“Please no.” He set the towel back on the hook and moved to lean against the doorway. “Knowing them, they’ll be telling me to go home with him before we’re even halfway through with our date.”

“Well, we do live next door…”

“Konan, no.” he groaned. “I’m relying on you to be the sane one of all our friends.”

She laughed at that notion. “I think you’re confusing me with Rin. Have you forgotten all the times I tried to stick you and Kakashi together? Seeing you tonight is like watching all my hard work coming to fruition. For my sake, don’t screw it up.”

“Thanks for that.” He grinned anyway.

As he reached for the wallet that lay on his nightstand, they both heard the knocking on the front door. Konan jumped up excitedly to answer it, but Obito quickly tackled her and tossed her on the center of the bed. He then proceeded to run around and shut his bedroom door, trapping her inside for a few seconds at least. “Buzz off, there’s no one who would knock on the door for you.” Obito told her. 

He heard her yell something back at him but he was already halfway to the door. As he reached for it, Konan came out of nowhere and slammed against him, throwing them both into the door with an audible thump. Obito fell back and sat in the middle of the floor, holding his face where it had been hit, while Konan opened the door with an eager look. 

“Uh…” Kakashi looked from her to Obito – who was glaring daggers into his roommate. “You okay?”

“He’s fine.” Konan dismissed the question. “So, where are you guys going?”

“I can’t tell you.” Kakashi answered, shuffling around her to offer Obito a hand. “It would ruin the surprise.”

Obito released where he had rubbed his face, revealing a new red mark on his cheek, and accepted the help up. “Well, I guess I didn’t have to worry about dressing up.” He remarked, taking in Kakashi casual appearance. 

His date simply smiled then gestured towards outside. “After you.”

“I expect all the details when you get back!” Konan said from the doorway as they headed down the stairs together towards the parking deck. “If you get back tonight, that is!”

“Shut up, Konan!” Obito called from the next stairwell down. 

Kakashi took it all in good strides but didn’t remark on the implied accusation. Instead he threw in a joke of his own. He went to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for Obito. 

The Uchiha stopped a few steps away with an annoyed look. “Really? You too? Maybe I should have let Konan put make up on me. A dress too. Why not?”

“I’m being chivalrous.” Kakashi laughed then jumped into the driver’s seat. Obito simply sighed and joined him in the car. “By the way, you look nice.”

“I look the same as always.” Obito retorted quietly.

“I know.” Kakashi answered knowingly. Somehow, after telling Obito how he felt, he found that saying anything that came to his mind was much easier. Even if Obito hadn’t given an answer, Kakashi was still enjoying the newfound freedom. There was no more nervousness that accompanied what he should or shouldn’t say. The best part of it now was seeing how his date was reacting. The way Obito tried to play it off as a compliment and nothing more reminded Kakashi of how they used to be. Except back then, their roles had been reversed. 

In the past, Obito had been the blunt one. The one living in the present and doing anything he could to show Kakashi just how much he meant to him. Even if the Obito now didn’t remember any of that, Kakashi was more than willing to return the favor. This date was the first step towards his goal. 

Honestly though, he thought he would have had to convince Obito to say yes to going out today. After everything, he imagined Obito might want time to himself to think over everything or to talk with their friends. He even thought Obito might want to avoid him, fearing that any time they would be in each other’s presence would just remind Obito of his failure in Chikyū. Luckily, Kakashi had been wrong. Maybe it was because he had asked during a convenient time that offered little to no chance of being denied. But then Obito had never backed out. From the way his hair looked slightly altered, he could imagine Obito trying to prepare for tonight or even getting help from Konan. All of these were good signs. 

He kept their talk small, not wanting to start a full-blown conversation in the car. They had all night for that. And it took no small amount of time to plan everything that he wanted to do tonight. He had to make sure there was time for everything and that it all flowed together so that he wasn’t going to be keeping Obito out all night. Granted that traffic didn’t get bad, it was going to go well. Kakashi had replayed the entire thing in his head for a while now, making sure he was prepared for any outcome.

As he pulled into a parking spot, Obito asked, “Are you going to get the door for me again?”

“Do you want me to?”

Obito gave a small chuckle but got out himself. He followed Kakashi into the chosen restaurant: Ichiraku. It was a place Obito had yet to try out though it was on his list. It was a small place and every time he had thought of visiting, he had been in a large group of friends. With just him and Kakashi here, it felt like the right time. 

As they moved past the front flaps to sit at the bar, an older man looked over his shoulder and gave a wide smile. “Kakashi! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you around here. Who’s this you have with you.”

Kakashi glanced sideways and offered a smile. “Uchiha Obito.”

“Obito?” The man set down his strainer of noodles to turn fully towards them. He leaned slightly over the counter to observe Obito who in turned lean back awkwardly. A heartbeat later, the man laughed. “You’ve sure grown since the last time I saw you. You’re quite the young man now!”

“Thanks.” Obito answered nervously. 

“I’ll get you two the usual then, shall I? Unless your taste buds have changed.”

“Sounds good.” Kakashi agreed.

Having no idea what the usual even was but trusting Kakashi, Obito agreed. When the old man moved to the back to grab the necessary supplies for whatever he was cooking, Obito leaned towards his date. “I’m assuming we came here often.”

“Sometimes.” Kakashi nodded. “We went to Yakiniku a little bit more often though.”

Obito quickly resumed his normal position as the old man came back. Kakashi and his father were the only ones to Obito’s knowledge that knew they had a relationship in the past. Not even Rin had known, so it was safe to assume that this man before him now had no idea either. But as friends, he was sure he and Kakashi had been seen together a lot in the past. 

This was confirmed a second later when the old man inquired as to where Rin was. Kakashi quickly made the excuse that she was busy and that the two of them had decided to go out instead. Part of Obito wondered how the man would react if Kakashi had told him that they were on a date, but he understood why Kakashi kept it quiet. If Obito decided to tell Kakashi that he was no longer interested in pursuing the idea of going out, it would save Kakashi from having to tell everyone that they split up. This way, he was removing the pressure of decision making for Obito. 

That or the old man was similar to the Uchiha family in regard to who should date who. But as happy as the man was, he doubted that. 

He had their food for them in no time with the biggest bowls of ramen that Obito had ever seen. At his wide-eyed look, the old man laughed. “Sorry, I haven’t seen you guys in so long I guess I got carried away. Consider it a welcome home gift, kids, on the house.”

“Really?” Obito asked, unsure if he should be accepting it but excited regardless. “Thanks!” He took a pair of chopsticks and dug in, instantly dying of happiness. No matter how good the ramen looked, the taste was so much better. It was the complete opposite of the curry he had eaten the other day. This ramen was literally heaven on earth. 

He only realized the two of them looking at him when he was halfway through and hesitated. Kakashi laughed then, taking a napkin and handing it to Obito. “I don’t know how you do it, but it’s like you go into your own little world and forget when people are talking.”

Obito took the napkin from him. “I do?”

“That’s a compliment.” The old man answered happily. “It means you must like my cooking.”

“He was asking about your major in school.” Kakashi elaborated, returning to his own food. 

“Cellular Biology.” Obito answered. “I want to work with the research of reconstructing body parts.”

The man made an awed noise, returning to prepping food for future guests. “What made you decide that?”

First it had been the loss of his memories. Obito had been curious as to how that could have happened and he wanted to see if it was possible if memories lost to trauma could be brought back. But the more he saw the type of people his father worked with, the more he got interested in the physical aspect. “Can you imagine how many people’s lives could be saved if we found a way to reconstruct organs or limbs for those who lost them or weren’t developed properly while in their mother’s womb? The waiting list would shorten considerably and it would be a major breakthrough.”

“And here I just want to adopt all the dogs of the world.” Kakashi mused. 

“That’s equally important.” Obito agreed. “Only if you adopt all the cats as well.”

Kakashi released a tortured sigh. “If I must. Dogs are so much better.”

“You say that only because you’ve never owned a cat. They don’t require as much attention as a dog and are less messy.”

“But you can’t take a cat for a walk or play fetch with it or train it to guard your house.”

“Not with that attitude.”

“It’s nice to see you guys haven’t changed at all.” The man laughed. “Still always competing.”

Was that why it felt so natural? Obito had assumed that it was this way with all of his friends, but maybe he had developed the behavior from Kakashi first. Too bad he hadn’t also gotten some of Rin’s tolerance transferred too. That would have helped so much in the early years of growing up with Madara. 

They continued having conversation with the old man as they ate. When Obito had pictured going on a date with Kakashi, he had thought of a restaurant with just the two of them talking, but this turned out to be just as fun. Meeting someone who used to know him besides Kakashi and Rin was refreshing. The old man told him stories of how he and Kakashi and Rin would come up after lunch and plan projects together for school or things to do for the day. Like making a cardboard spaceship, getting things to make a rope swing in Obito’s backyard, or find a way to convince Rin’s parents to let her spend the night at a guy’s house. They would have open discussions on which movie was the best, which video game character had the most potential, and why Rin’s interest in make up was silly. 

Every time they would come to this place, they would always require the old man to settle arguments. He never seemed to mind, despite not knowing anything about the games that they played. Yet he always chipped in with their finances for personal projects by giving them discounts. When at last Kakashi and Obito had finished, they said goodbye to the old man and made for the car again. 

“Where to next?” Obito asked, curious to see where else the night led. 

Kakashi flipped the keys around in one hand. “The movies. I already got our tickets.”

“What movie?”

He was answered with a vague shrug.

“What? I don’t even get a hint?”

“Nope.” Kakashi laughed. “Because no matter what I say, you’d get it instantly. But I will tell you that this took some strings to pull.”

Obito frowned slightly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll see.”

Obito made a sound of impatience that only made Kakashi happier about the entire situation. If he was enjoying himself so far, then that meant that Kakashi was doing a good job. He flipped on the radio and made for the theater next. By strings, he meant that he had connections as to who controlled throwback night. Once a month, the local theater would play a movie from the past so people could re-experience it on the wide screen. He merely made a good suggestion that they agreed with and then, after that, all it took was for Obito to agree to go out with him tonight. It was all falling into place. The best thing he could hope for now was that not too many people would be in the theater or, at the least, no children. 

He was about to strike up another topic to get Obito’s mind off of what movie they were going to watch when his date reached to the radio and turned it up. Then, to Kakashi’s great enjoyment, started singing and dancing along to There’s Nothing Holding Me Back by Shawn Mendes. Kakashi didn’t know all the words like Obito did, but was completely content with sitting back and listening. 

Realizing that the driver hadn’t joined in yet, Obito switched from dancing by himself to projecting his actions at Kakashi. During the slower parts of the song, he became overdramatic and wiggled his arms like they were noodles. Yet during the main chorus, he acted like he was on a stage to an audience. Kakashi could help but laugh at the unexpected change of atmosphere. 

When the song changed to I’m Ready by AJR, Kakashi decide to join in. He wasn’t as open in his movement as Obito was, curtesy of driving, but he was greatly amused by Obito’s impersonation of Spongebob. He was pretty sure Obito freaked out some people at a stoplight because Kakashi had noticed how they looked over and watched Obito dancing like a lunatic. Kakashi wished he was that brave to not care about the opinion of others. Obito had simply looked over, waved, and kept dancing like he couldn’t be bothered to explain himself. 

When they reached the theater, Kakashi was sure that Obito would have been out of breath or something, but he jumped out of the car with the same enthusiasm as before. Kakashi followed at a calmer pace, handing the movie ticket over and watched the confusion pass over his date’s face.

“This doesn’t say what it is.” Obito accused, waving it like it was useless. 

“That’s because it was advertised inside.” Kakashi held the door as Obito went inside to investigate. 

He scanned the new release posters until he found the one for that night and his jaw dropped. “Alien vs Predator?” 

“Yep.” Kakashi placed his hand on his friend’s back and guided him towards the correct hallway. “You like horror films, don’t you?”

“Ah, yeah.” Obito answered, handing over his ticket. “All about them jump scares.”

He couldn’t be a worse liar. 

The room wasn’t as crowded as Kakashi’s worst case scenario, but it had more people in it than he had hoped for. Not that he had any control over that, but at least there weren’t any small kids. Hopefully they were all in the Trolls movie a few doors down. 

They chose some seats on the side with Kakashi sitting on the outside and Obito propping his feet up between the seats in front of them. Everyone else seemed to be keeping towards the center seats at the back or front, so there weren’t many people around them. Good thing too, because Kakashi had chosen this movie for a very specific reason. Well, two technically, but one was about to present itself. 

He had to applaud Obito for keeping his calm during the first half of the movie. The shaking of his leg and fidgeting with his sleeves was a sign that Obito still didn’t handle scary films very well. Kakashi had never been bothered by jump scares, but he took pleasure in watching Obito trying to predict them and still get scared. One particular scene had Obito nearly jumping out of his seat and grabbing Kakashi’s arm unintentionally. He quickly apologized and crossed his arms, huddling into his seat in an effort to relax only to jump again a few scenes later. Kakashi had to cover his mouth and turn away to avoid laughing out loud and disturbing other movie goers. 

The only time that Kakashi couldn’t stop a laugh was when he had sneezed and Obito flinched so badly he gasped. He was delivered a few empty threats, but he couldn’t stop himself from grinning like an idiot. This was totally worth it. 

“Oh my god, turn around.” He heard Obito mutter to himself. “It’s right. Fucking. There. Turn around.” 

And still there was a sharp intake of breath when the sound suddenly increased and the music ran faster. Coming from a man who could literally beat the life out of anything, it was hilarious. Kakashi could hardly keep track of the film when the show was going on right next to him.

Finally, at the end of the movie where the woman was meeting the Elder Predator, Obito began criticizing the scene. “Take her with you. How is she supposed to get home? You jerks.”

“I think she’ll make it, Obito.”

“They totally should have taken her. It would have made a good second movie.”

The lights came back on and Obito released a sigh of relief. Kakashi couldn’t help but nudge him. “I thought you liked horror films.”

Obito leaned his head back and groaned at the ceiling. “I lied.”

“Apparently. I thought you were going to have a heart attack.”

“I almost _did_. If those things were real, I would just kill myself. Same thing if the world gets taken over by zombies. I’m not going to deal with it.”

“But who else will protect the human race?”

“Literally anyone else.”

“What about me?”

“You can join me. Zetsu and the others too. We’ll all drink the toxic punch together. Or we’ll just have Deidara blow us all up. He seems to have a thing for explosions recently.”

Not surprising. Being friends with them for this long, that sounded like the type of art that Deidara could sink into. “Deal. You ready to go?”

“Was this the only thing you had planned for tonight?”

Kakashi simply shrugged again and led the way out of the theater. There was only one thing left he had planned for tonight and it didn’t consist of doing anything but walking. By now it was late and the streets weren’t as crowded. Even traffic had slowed and the streetlights were on. It took Kakashi no time to take the backroads back to an old neighborhood before parking at a convenience store.

He waited for Obito to shut the car door behind him before slipping his hands into his pockets. “I figured we could walk for a while.”

Obito observed the area around them, taking note of the street signs. “In our old neighborhood?”

“Yes.” Kakashi answered. “I’ll follow you.”

With no particular destination in mind, Obito took the lead towards the closest sidewalk and simply walked. They passed a few houses with Kakashi making small remarks on a few of them. Old classmates, older women who were nice enough to buy all the chocolates they sold to raise money, past babysitters. 

It wasn’t until a playground came into view that Obito slowed. He remembered taking Sasuke there a few times, but at night it seemed different. Maybe it was from the lack of children running and yelling. He crossed the street with Kakashi in tow and climbed up on one of the playsets. “It seems so much more different when you’re older.” Obito laughed, trying to go down the slide. It just barely accommodated his size. He had to go in sideways just to get his shoulders through the opening. 

Kakashi waited at the end of the slide, sitting on the ground. “Yeah, you’re much fatter now.”

“Excuse you, this is all muscle.”

“That’s what I said.”

Wrong choice of vocabulary but Obito refused to fall for the obvious taunt. He leaned forward on his knees, trying to envision himself, Rin, and Kakashi all playing here. This would have been a good middle point for all of them to meet up, or were they the kind of people to play at each other’s houses? What had been his favorite thing to play on?

“Obito.” Kakashi’s sudden tone shift pulled the Uchiha from his thoughts. “Did any part of tonight feel familiar to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like you had been to these places before?”

Obito was about to respond that it didn’t, but then another thought struck him. Kakashi had planned all of this as a surprise, hadn’t he? Which meant he was trying to get a genuine reaction out of him without giving him time to prepare. These places were significant to him and must, at one point, have been significant to Obito as well. 

“Did we go on a date to these places before?” When Kakashi’s smile widened, Obito realized exactly what he had just done. “You recreated our first date.”

“Yes.” He admitted. “Except last time, it was you that was taking me everywhere. We had a late lunch at Ichiraku, rode our bikes to the theater where you covered your eyes for half of the movie, and then we came back here. You told me that you didn’t want to go home yet because you wanted to end the night on something positive so you didn’t have nightmares about monsters exploding from people’s chests.”

Obito couldn’t believe the thoughtfulness behind all this. He couldn’t believe that he still couldn’t remember it after everything either. Once again Kakashi had done something on his behalf without him even knowing about it. 

Kakashi laughed nervously, messing with the hair at the base of his neck. “Hope you don’t mind that I sort of stole your ideas. It’s just, when we got back to Kasai, I was thinking about how you were trying your hardest to remember your past. I wanted to try helping and I figured even if you didn’t remember, we could remake a few at least.”

“You…” Obito sighed, covering his face. “Why do you go so far for me?”

“I would do anything for the people I care about.”

“Jeez, just stop already.” 

Kakashi faltered a bit. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No. God, no, you didn’t. It’s just,” Obito slipped from the slide to sit next to Kakashi on the ground. “You can’t possibly be real.”

“I am though.” Kakashi argued. He put his hand over Obito’s and lifted it to his face, leaning against it to prove his point. “See?”

He knew if the park was any better lit, he would be able to see the heated look in Obito’s eyes be reflected in a warm color on his face. It was the same look he got when Konan had thrown him into Kakashi’s lap or when they were embracing on Kakashi’s birthday. Yet he knew at the same time he knew Obito wouldn’t act on it. For one reason or another, he was keeping a distance between them. Almost like he was afraid of taking advantage of Kakashi or confused about how he felt overall. 

But Kakashi had already told him that he wasn’t going to make Obito decide anything tonight. He was willing to take this slow and follow whatever pace that Obito set. So he released Obito’s hand and prepared to stand up and put some distance between them. That way Obito wouldn’t be pressured into doing something that Kakashi wanted him to.

Yet Obito didn’t remove his hand, nor did he say anything. He let his thumb brush across Kakashi’s cheekbone before sliding it back into Kakashi’s hair, teasing the small strands there. That, combined with the look he was still receiving, sent chills down his spine. “Obito?”

“I still don’t believe you’re real.” Obito answered, pushing some loose strands behind Kakashi’s ear. “You’re not allowed to be this attractive and not be also insane.”

Those words were slowly pushing Kakashi’s boundaries and making it hard not to act. Kakashi leaned towards him so that their faces were hardly inches apart, but forced himself to keep that distance instead of closing it. He told Obito he wouldn’t force him into anything. He had promised. But Obito was making it so damn hard to keep that. “That only applies to men’s laws about women.”

Obito’s fingers tightened in his hair and everything in Kakashi’s mind was telling him to close that gap. He wanted to so badly, and there was no way that Obito didn’t feel the same. 

“Kakashi.”

“What?” he answered almost impatiently. 

“I don’t kiss on the first date.” 

Then suddenly he was standing up, a teasing grin on his face as he looked down at Kakashi who was still trying to process what just happened. And when he did, he gave a pout that would give a toddler a run for their money. Kakashi looked up at him with a hurt and betrayed look. “That wasn’t nice.”

“Teasing doesn’t have to be nice, Bakakashi. Come on, let’s continue our walk.”

But Kakashi couldn’t breathe. He just looked up at Obito, shocked beyond words for the longest moment. “What did you just call me?”

“It’s a play on your name. I basically just called you an idiot.” Obito explained. “Why?”

Because Obito had only ever called him that when they were young. He had never once called him that since he had come back to Kasai. Hadn’t even so much as given Kakashi a nickname beyond what he did for anyone else. Did Obito even realize that he had done that? Had he unknowingly tapped into something or was it all coincidence?

“You used to call me that when we were younger.” Kakashi answered. There was no point in trying to hide that from Obito, not when he was trying so hard to retrieve his lost memories.

Yet it didn’t have the same impact on Obito as it did Kakashi. “I guess younger me has a great sense of humor too.”

He didn’t realize that over time the name had turned into an endearment. He thought he was being clever with the play on words. For now, Kakashi wouldn’t press into it. Small steps were better than no steps at all. 

Kakashi got to his feet and joined Obito so that their walk could continue. Obito took one step then stopped again, now slightly embarrassed. “Actually, now I have a question for you before we go anywhere else.”

“What?”

“Will…” Despite it being too dark to really see any form of blushing, Obito glanced a different direction before asking, “Will you, uh, go on another date with me?”

Kakashi’s heart was going on a roller-coaster with this constant excitement, shock and excitement. “Absolutely. Have anything in mind?”

Now it was Obito’s turn to be vague. “Surprise.”


	19. A Good Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, many apologies for the extremely late chapter. I've had a lot going on in the past month that kept me away from my laptop. Thanks for your patience and hope you enjoy!

“You don’t understand. These kids were everywhere.” Kisame was saying, spreading his arms wide to demonstrate. “There must have been like thirty of them, all running around and smacking the glass. My poor aquatic friends. They were so scared.”

“Sounds terrible.” Itachi said mildly, glancing in the review mirror. “Zetsu, is this the place?”

Zetsu nodded seriously from the back seat, pulling his backpack higher on his shoulder. 

Kisame continued, “But then out of nowhere this guy comes out and, like, commands these kid’s attentions like a god. I have no idea how he did it, but it was like he just trained a bunch of newborn monkeys to tap dance. I need him to teach me how to do that the next time a school decides to make my work a field trip.”

“That’s nice.” Zetsu responded before pointing between the driver and passenger seats. “There, take that right.”

“This is kind of out there.” Itachi turned onto a dirt road. 

The path looped around the end of some thick trees to open into a large field. Most of it was gated off and had anything from dogs to horses. There was a warehouse in far corner of the property, a barn, and in the center was a clinic. 

“Are you two listening to me at all?” Kisame asked. “Or am I boring you with my adult world talk?”

“You’ll have time to tell us again over dinner later today, but right now we’ve got a mission.” Itachi countered. “You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

There was a small chuckle from the back. “Well, he works with fish and they’ve only got a ten second memory. Maybe it rubbed off.”

Ignoring Kisame’s offended noise, Itachi parked the car in the closest spot to the front door. “Focus guys.”

The minute their car doors opened, they were greeted with the sounds of many animals. The first recognizable ones were the dogs, and judging by the barks they were of all sizes. Probably in another section of the fenced area, enjoying the sun and fighting over their favorite toys. Itachi swore for a second he heard a goat send its call into the air as well, but who actually owned goats out here? It wasn’t a farm. 

Oh wait, never mind. There was a goat after all.

“I thought he worked at a vet clinic, not a zoo.” Kisame complained as an unidentified bird ran between his feet. “The heck was that?”

Zetsu watched as it ran underneath the car and pecked at the tires with interest. “I think a guinea. That or a defective chicken.”

“I’m going with defective chicken because I have no idea what the other thing you said even is. I specialize in water creatures, not these future chicken nuggets.”

“I think that one was too big to be a chicken nugget, bro. Maybe like a Chick-fil-A sandwich.” 

“Guys, come on.” Itachi tried to direct their attention back to their goal. It was like he had become the teacher Kisame had talked about and his friends were the rambunctious children. “We got one chance of doing this.”

“Relax, Itachi.” Zetsu patted his shoulder, puffing his chest confidently. “The worst that could happen is we get arrested, but your dad can bail us out. Isn’t he the sheriff here?”

Normally Itachi was good at keeping his bodily functions from revealing how he felt, but he couldn’t help the droop in his shoulders. “Yeah, but let’s try not to get arrested, okay?”

“Why not? We could be just like Obito. Maybe we’ll all meet our significant others there too.” Kisame laughed, reaching for the door first and holding it open for the other two. “I can get myself a really attractive nerd who hacked a government network and Zetsu can get a huge, beefy guy who beat up everyone from Fight Club.”

Zetsu frowned. “Why do I get a beefy guy? If I had to choose a life partner, it would be someone very similar to myself.”

“Do you want to trade?”

“I don’t think beefy guys are your type, Kisame.”

“Shows what you know. I used to have the biggest thing for Obito until I realized that there was no way I was his type.”

Both Zetsu and Itachi froze just inside the doorway and turned to him with equally shocked looks. Kisame simply smiled and shrugged. “High school, guys. Why do you think I convinced him that jumping in a shark tank was fun? I wanted to see if he was man enough to do it. Plus, shows off his abs a lot more if his shirt is clinging to it.”

“Oh god, ew.” Itachi actually shivered. “Please shut up.”

“Jealous, Itachi?” Kisame nudged him, wiggling his eyebrows playfully. “You Uchiha do have this natural beauty to you.”

The glare he received in response may as well have been a laser and Kisame retreated away with a laugh and his hands raised in surrender. With him at a safe distance, Itachi made his way to the front counter where a woman had been watching them with curiosity. When he approached, she set down the paper she had been checking over and entered her work persona complete with a friendly smile. “What can I help you with?”

“We are looking for our friend, Hatake Kakashi, but we were hoping to surprise him.”

Her grin only grew at the mention of their mutual friend. “Is it his birthday?”

“Nah.” Zetsu came up to lean on the counter. “We’ve never seen him at work before and he usually so anti-social. We were hoping to see him in a whole new element.”

She laughed good naturedly. “Let me make find what room he’s in charge of today for you.” She filed through the computer schedule until she found Kakashi’s room. Today was a day he was doing check-ups on pets that had just been groomed. He was the last person to see the animal before it was given back to owners tomorrow for pickup. The woman then stood and led them down the closest hallway. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t see you guys come in.”

“How do you know we’re trustworthy?” Zetsu asked. “We could be robbing him.”

The woman laughed at him like that had been a joke. “Kakashi talks about you guys often, and I have a better judge of character than that. That, and no one wants to rob a clinic like this. A lot of work around here gets done by volunteers since we’re hardly funded.”

“Maybe we should rob a bank for you guys.” Kisame teased. 

“Don’t get caught.” She opened the door and peeked in before standing back for them. “He’s got his headphones in, so I doubt he’ll hear you guys. Have fun.”

Itachi nodded to her and went in first with Kisame right behind him. Zetsu made to follow but hesitated and turned back to the girl. “What’s your name?” 

“Hana Inuzuka.”

“Zetsu.” He offered his hand for her to accept. “Thanks for being so chill about our weird request.”

“Anytime.” She shook his hand then gave a small wave and headed back to the front desk. 

Zetsu waited for her to vanish around the corner before entering behind his friends and shutting the door. Just as she said, Kakashi was dealing with a patient on a small table and humming along to something on his headphones. Itachi and Kisame had already moved into place just out of his view but ready to strike at any second. Zetsu set his bag down quietly and pulled out some rope, throwing it over his arm and nodding to the other two. They offered a thumbs up. 

Everything moved quickly after this. Zetsu switched off the lights and the other two lunged for Kakashi. There was a small exclamation of surprise before someone’s hand slapped over Kakashi’s mouth. Zetsu rushed forward to begin tying Kakashi’s hands behind his back, but the second he made contact, he realized it wasn’t skin. It was fur.

In the next heartbeat, claws. 

“The fuck!?” Zetsu cried out, fighting the fluffy ball of death and bumping into Itachi with a grunt of pain. Itachi tried to shove him off only to lose balance and stumble into the other two. When whatever the creature had enough of Zetsu, it jumped to its next target which, judging by the cry, was Kisame. 

“Get it off!”

“Hold still!”

“Oh my god, it’s in my pants.”

“I am _not_ going after it.”

“Stop moving!”

“Who just hit me?!”

“What is going on?”

“Shut up, Kakashi, we’re busy.”

“Ahhhhh, noooo, oh my god get it out!”

“Something just ran past me.”

“Where did it go?” 

“Be gone, Satan animal!”

The lights came back to reveal Itachi at the light switch, Zetsu backed against a wall with wide eyes, and Kakashi straddling Kisame holding a ferret with Kisame looking horrorstruck. Kakashi glanced around them all, his headphones across the floor lost in the confusion. “What are you all doing?”

“Failing miserably.” Itachi sighed, walking forward and taking the animal from Kakashi. The second the creature left his hands, Zetsu and Kisame tackled him to the ground. Itachi placed the animal back in the kennel before putting himself before them all like some leader. “Listen, Kakashi, we need to talk.”

Flattened on his stomach with Zetsu sitting on his legs and Kisame holding his arms still, the silver haired man frowned. “Is this necessary?” 

“Yes.” Itachi bent down, pulling out a pocket knife and toying with it in front of him. “Did you really think I would be okay with you dating my cousin?”

Kakashi’s eyes hesitated at the knife before looking up at him as best as he could. “To be fair, we aren’t dating yet, but yes. I thought as our friends, you would be supportive.”

“Yet.” Kisame scoffed. “Look how confident he is.”

“Cute.” Itachi agreed, but there was no friendliness in his voice. He poked the knife at the ground, hardly inches from Kakashi. “Listen here. Obito’s been in some good relationships and some bad. At this point, I think it’s obvious what type of people he’s interested in. You’re a good guy, Kakashi, and I’m sure you _think_ you like him, but you need to stop this before someone gets hurt. Once Obito likes someone, he gets very attached.”

“I’m not going to hurt him.” Kakashi started to argue back but stopped with the knife was placed against his lips. 

Itachi sighed. “Again, I’m sure you _think_ you’re right, but I’m telling you no. The last thing I want to see is Obito be crushed by someone so close to him. You haven’t known him as long as me. You’re acting on past feelings of friendship. This isn’t the same Obito you grew up with.”

“It’s better to stay friends, Kakashi. Trust me.” Zetsu added. 

Kakashi waited until Itachi withdrew the blade before asking, “What if I refuse?”

“I’m sure you remember what happened to Mizuki.” Kisame leaned forward until he was by Kakashi’s ear. “That was only one person who dealt with him. Imagine if it was more than one. You think we’re the only ones who feel the two of you should stay separate?”

“You don’t know us as well as you think.” Itachi said darkly. “Pay attention. When you and Obito go out this weekend, you’re going to have a fun time. But at the end, you’re going to tell him that you were wrong and that you aren’t interested in pursuing a relationship. That you want to stay friends.”

“It’s for the best, man.” Zetsu patted his leg. “It’s in Obito’s best interest.”

“And I really don’t want to have to create an excuse every time we send you to the hospital. There’s only so many times someone can fall down the stairs and break every bone on the way.” 

Kakashi didn’t answer at first, merely observed them all individually as if trying to tell if they were lying or not. All of them were deadly serious, all holding the same dangerous aura Obito had when he had confessed putting Mizuki in the hospital. 

But, against his better judgement, Kakashi laughed at them. Not wholeheartedly, but enough to show his amusement. “You guys are idiots. Do you honestly think I would give up just because you’re willing to threaten me at work? Obito would be worth getting the shit beat out of me a few times.”

“You’re not giving up?” Itachi asked, dangerously flicking the knife around. 

“Heck no.” Kakashi answered. “If I can convince him that my feelings for him are genuine, then I can convince you too.”

Itachi, Kisame, and Zetsu all shared a look with each other that was unreadable. Kakashi held his breath under them, wondering if they really would carry through with the threat. They were his friends, but at the same time he recognized them as those who would go far to protect the people they were closest to. As obvious when they all guarded Rin. On one hand, it was flattering, but when turned against him it was slightly terrifying. 

The way Itachi handled the knife in his hand was in no way amateurish. Obito had once mentioned that Kakashi had no idea what they had to go through growing up in Chikyū. Now that he was being crushed by two of his friends and threatened by another, Kakashi was realizing just how ignorant he was to that fact. How had none of his fellow workers seen them come in?

But then Itachi folded the knife and tossed it to Kisame who released Kakashi to catch it. Together with Zetsu, they stood up and moved aside while Itachi offered his hand along with his typical small smile. “Well alright then.”

Unsure of their intentions, Kakashi hesitated a moment before he allowed Itachi to pull him to his feet. “Alright then, what? Do I have to start looking over my shoulder any time I’m around Obito?” 

“Nah.” Zetsu answered, gathering up the rope that had been tossed all over the floor in their failed attempt. “We just wanted to see if you were serious.”

“You pass.” Kisame laughed, punching him in the shoulder than more force necessary. 

Kakashi frowned his confusion. “This was an act?”

“Of course,” Itachi answered for them. “If you can deal with this situation, then you can deal with the rest of my family and people like them who disagree with Obito’s lifestyle. Plus, you don’t think we pulled the same stunt with Obito before we got ahold of you?”

“Priceless.” Kisame added, holding the backpack open for Zetsu. “You should have seen it. We had him hanging over a bridge just near the lake.”

Zetsu hummed amusingly at the memory. “How no one called the cops is a mystery.”

“Probably because Obito was threatening our lives if we actually did drop him. He was scarier than us.”

“That’s why we had the rope with us.” Zetsu explained. “Obito knows how to get out of a lot of hand holds, so we needed the extra help. Somehow, we failed with you, but whatever.”

The image of Obito being held over a bridge by his legs came up in Kakashi mind, but rather than threatening his life, he was threatening theirs. Obito was probably swinging and trying to get free while Itachi and the others tried to get their point across. To think that they would go that far against Obito, their friend for years, for Kakashi who they had yet to know for just one. It was extremely touching. 

“What did he say?” Kakashi asked before he could help it. 

Itachi’s face turned serious. “He said he’d gladly throw you under the bus if that meant he wouldn’t be tossed in the river. Trying to swim with his legs tied was not a challenge he wanted to try.”

Kakashi gasped. “No, he didn’t.”

Zetsu grabbed Itachi’s arm and gave him a nudge towards the door. “You’re right, he didn’t. Stop messing with him, Itachi.”

“Yeah, what he actually said was-.” Kisame was cut off when Zetsu threw the bag at him.

“Come on, we have errands to run before game night tonight.”

Kisame was about to argue only to think better of it and shrug. “Sure. See you later, Kakashi.”

“But…” They left the room with Kakashi standing disappointed. What had Kisame been about to say? Now he was really curious. With a resigned sigh, he turned back to the ferret who had calmed down. Guess he would have to wait till the weekend to figure out what Obito’s take on the whole thing was. 

 

“Obito?”

His friend glanced at him. “Yeah?”

Kakashi, however, had his eyes towards the back. “Am I about to be murdered?”

The question brought forth a chuckle from his friend, but not the other. Hidan, in full rage mode, sat in the back of Obito’s truck glaring murderously at both of them. They were separated by a glass window, but Kakashi could swear he could feel Hidan trying to kill them telekinetically. 

It was around eight in the morning, the time that Obito had texted to be up and ready with a bag of spare clothes. Prepare to get wet, he had said. At first Kakashi thought they would be going to the beach, but they were headed towards Kaze, the city that Suna University was held in. That place was always warm, so the next idea that Kakashi had was a water park. Obito, naturally, refused to say anything.

What he didn’t expect was to see Obito forcing Hidan to climb into his truck as well. This was meant to be their second date, right? Why was Hidan there? And why was Sasori following them in his own car?

“Don’t worry.” Obito answered, taking a right on an exit. “They won’t be with us for too much longer.”

But that didn’t explain why Hidan’s attitude was oozing through the window. Doing his best to brush it off, Kakashi continued, “Do I get to know where we are going yet?”

“I expect you’ll figure it out soon enough.” Obito answered. 

“Uh huh…” Kakashi glanced back at Hidan. “What about him?”

“He is going with Sasori to visit family. His grandmother found some interesting artifacts on an excavating trip that they were going to give him.”

And yet for some reason he was riding in the back of Obito’s truck instead of with Sasori. “Did they have a fight? Because that would explain why he wants to kill something.”

Obito laughed again, but this time at a memory. “Nah, he’s mad he didn’t get to take part in our interrogations a few days ago. Apparently, Itachi and the others forgot to invite him, so I promised he can ride with us and imagine threatening our lives the entire way.”

“He actually agreed to that?”

“He’s a very petty person, Kakashi. Back in Chikyū, he lost a bet to Kakuzu and instead of paying up like a normal person, he went to the bank and got twenty dollars’ worth of pennies. Pissed Kakuzu off but gave the rest of us a good laugh.”

Where did people like this come from? Kakashi remembered when normalcy used to be a part of his life until Obito came back bringing all sorts of interesting people with him. He supposed he should be lucky that the only thing Hidan was doing was glaring at them rather than try and put a curse on them from one of his weird religion books. The man found the strangest things to collect. The artifacts he was getting from Sasori’s relative might actually be used to curse someone or sacrifice the in some strange ritual.

“So long as he doesn’t make a voodoo doll out of us, I suppose.” Kakashi relented, turning his back on Hidan and observing where they were.

The exit they had pulled off on wasn’t as much of a town that he would have expected. It was more like backcountry. A few areas to pull off for fast food, and a few homely looking diners, and the rest was just roads leading off into the country. Obito went down one of these backroads but only for a few minutes before he pulled into an outdoor recreation center that had all sorts of outdoor sporting supplies. Boats, water skis, camping, hiking, bikes, footballs, literally anything for outdoor use. This was a store he could see Guy nerding out at.

“Come on.” Obito said, parking and relating the same order to Hidan. Sasori pulled up behind them and joined not long after, all following Obito inside the building. 

While he went to talk to the worker, Kakashi went off to observe some of their supplies. Now it was obvious that Obito was planning some sort of boating trip. That would explain the change of clothes. He should have expected some sort of outdoor activity from a guy who looked like he was a gym trainer. 

Sure enough, when he looked over, the worker led Obito over to where certain kayaks were kept, pointing out individual ones for rent. Obito picked two single ones out and followed the man back to the register while a few other workers went into the back to bring the boats to the car. Leaving Obito to pay for the trip, he followed the workers out to help bring them towards the correct car. 

“Have you been kayaking before?” One of the workers asked, noticing how Kakashi was glancing skeptically at them.

He shook his head. “I get the basic concept, but I haven’t been personally. How often do you fall out?”

The worker laughed, jumping into the truck and pulling the first one back. “These aren’t made for extreme white water rafting, so you don’t have to worry about going down any major waterfalls or something you see people doing online. The river you guys are going to only has one class four rapid which might tip you over, but the rest are pretty manageable.”

“If you can’t flip your boat on your own, just pull it off to the side and get back in.” The other worker instructed. “But your friend has gotten the entire run through and assures us he’s done this plenty of times. I’m sure he can help you out.”

Obito would help him out, sure, but only after he pushed Kakashi in. 

As they were pulling the second boat in and securing it, Obito walked back outside flanked by the arguing duo. 

“I don’t understand how you can’t be upset by this.” Hidan was saying, gesturing towards the backpack that Obito held on his back. “One minute they’re just friends, the next they’re pitching a tent together!”

Obito face flushed slightly and he did his best to ignore him as Sasori countered, “They shared a room in Chikyū, remember? I hardly see how this is an upgrade.”

“They’ll be alone in the woods together!” Hidan countered. “There’s no worry about having someone hear you through a wall.”

“What _exactly_ do you think we’re going to be doing?” Obito rounded on him. 

“Well, see, Obito,” Sasori began to explain, “When two people love each other very much-.”

“Oh shut up.” Obito moved away from them, avoiding eye contact with Kakashi, and tossed the bag into his truck. 

The two others were still having jokes at their expense when they all climbed back into the cars, except this time Hidan riding with Sasori. Obito adjusted his mirrors so he could keep an eye on the boats before muttering, “I really hate him sometimes. I should have asked someone else to drive my truck to our exit point instead of him.”

That explained why Hidan was tagging along then. Kakashi knew it had to be more than just to make fun of them. “Just tell him that when you want to sleep with someone, you generally don’t take them out in the middle of nowhere first.”

“Right, because that was totally my intention in the first place. This entire trip is really just one big distraction to the love hotel I’m taking us to. We’re actually going to have a foursome with the two dingbats back there. Hope you’re okay with all this.” Obito said sarcastically, throwing the car in reverse and taking them back to the interstate. 

Kakashi laughed before cringing, not wanting to picture the two behind them in any sort of way except clothed. “I don’t even think you can pay me to sleep with those two.”

Obito joined in the laughter and they spent the rest of their trip making up what would happen when they got to the love hotel. One situation including Hidan slipping on a bar of soap, another included Sasori taking one look at them all before noping out of the entire ordeal. One also included Kakuzu showing up out of nowhere and everyone trying to escape in unorthodox ways including vanishing down the toilet, climbing out of a five-story window, or hiding under the sheets like kids from ghosts. 

During this time, Kakashi couldn’t help but realize how much Obito had become more comfortable around him. Just a few months ago he was freaking out about the idea of Kakashi reading part of his novel to him. Now they were sitting here making multiple sex jokes without any of the awkwardness. Best of all, Obito had been the one to initiate that sort of conversation. It went a long way to showing that he was interested in Kakashi too, aside from the fact that this entire date was his idea. 

The rest of the trip wasn’t as long and they found themselves off the interstate and onto a highway, heading towards one main rivers that led from Kaze to Kasai. Now that it was obvious what their date included, Obito was willing to let Kakashi in on some of the details. He had never bothered to ask Kakashi whether or not he had been kayaking before, so he chose a section of the river that wasn’t terrible for beginners but had enough rapids to still be fun. They were going down the river a few miles until they hit a camp site, and Obito assured him that the tent would be safe from any sort of water damage in case his boat flipped. 

The camp site itself was open to the public but only approachable by boat, so it was mainly unused. Especially during this time of year. The water wasn’t going to be too terribly cold being so close to Kaze and there wasn’t going to be any Spring Breakers coming by. Whenever they woke up, Hidan and Sasori would have set their car at a stopping point just a few more miles down. 

They reached the water close to eleven in the morning and took no time in getting the boats and supplies out. Sasori brought another bag from his car and handed it off to Kakashi, this one containing any food or supplies they might need. When everything was out of the cars and secured properly onto the kayaks, Obito handed the keys over to Hidan with promises that any new scratch he finds on it will be put on Hidan when he gets home. Hidan, in return, promised to take it to a monster truck derby and pay someone to total the car in the worst way possible. When Hidan’s death wish was settled, Obito led the way down to the water where their boats and paddles had been placed. 

“Don’t stand in it.” Obito advised, stopping Kakashi before he lost his balance. “Sit in it first.”

“Just, you know, testing the waters.” Kakashi lied, following the advice. 

Once he was properly seated, Obito kicked his boat into the river and laughed as Kakashi nearly fell out. “You won’t need a rapid’s help to fall out, will you?” He jumped into his own boat and caught up easily. 

“So long as you don’t kick my boat around anymore, I should be fine.” Kakashi countered. 

Naturally, the first thing Obito tried to do was show off. As the first of the rapids came up, small but enough to wiggle the boat around more than normal, Obito went first and turned his boat so the back end went first. He waved goodbye to Kakashi before he was pulled backwards over it. How he managed to stay topside, Kakashi had no idea. He was too busy trying to avoid any rocks that were scattered around them. 

The more they were on the water, the more he got used to how to maneuver the boat. It turned easily, and Kakashi often found himself being completely turned around. The water itself was clear, unlike what he expected, and he could see all of the moss covered rocks below. From time to time he would see a fish that was big enough to run the length of his forearm. Obito joked that they should have brought fishing rods to catch some for dinner. Kakashi politely declined. He would rather not have to smell dead fish at their camp all throughout the night. 

At some point they came across a cliff that leaned out over the water a bit. Obito led the way to the shore where he pulled his boat up, dropped his life vest inside, and began to climb. Kakashi remained in his boat, just where the edge of the cliff came out, and frowned. “Are you actually going to jump in?”

“Of course.” Obito grabbed onto a small tree and pulled himself further up the slope next to the cliff. “Aren’t you?”

“Someone’s got to make sure you don’t knock yourself out when you land.”

Obito openly scoffed at him. “Do you _see_ rocks down there, scaredy-cat?” 

Not exactly, but Kakashi wasn’t chancing it. He backed up when Obito got to the cliffside, wondering if he should be taking out his phone to record. Obito peeked over the edge and hesitated. 

“Second guessing yourself?” Kakashi teased, reaching for his phone. 

The next second Obito jumped as if to prove him wrong, splashing Kakashi and forcing his kayak to wiggle around from the wave. Instead of surfacing immediately, Obito swam under Kakashi’s boat. 

With a sinking feeling, Kakashi muttered, “You better not be doing what I think you’re doing.” 

But of course he was. As soon as Kakashi felt Obito grab onto the boat from below, it gave a sharp turn and caused him to go flying from his boat and into the water. His life vest caused him to surface instantly and find Obito laughing next to him. His boat was already flipped right side up with the Uchiha clinging to the side of it, grinning from ear to ear. 

“What happened?” Obito asked innocently. “You were doing so well.”

“You jerk.” Kakashi slapped water at him. 

Obito teasingly spat his tongue out before retreating to the other side of the boat when Kakashi swam back to him. He held the boat still while Kakashi climbed back inside, strangely more difficult than he thought it would be thanks to the life vest. Once he had climbed back in and got himself situated with the paddle, Obito tried to test his luck and climb in too.

“No, you don’t.” Kakashi tried to push him back out, towards his own boat. “This thing can’t handle both of us.”

“Not with that attitude.” Obito only got about halfway up before the boat tipped and knocked them both back into the water again. 

Kakashi spit out river water and pushed his bangs back from his face before he turned to scold Obito. Instead he was met with Obito shaking a hand through his hair, sending drops of water in every direction, and causing it to stick in random areas. 

“Okay, you’re right.” Obito relented with a boyish grin. “I’ll help you get back in if you take me back to my boat. We seem to have wandered down river a little bit.”

Kakashi looked past his friend towards the cliff that he had just jumped off. Sure enough, they had gone down river but it wasn’t nearly so fast paced that Obito couldn’t swim back himself. He just wanted to watch Kakashi struggle to drag him back while trying not to hit him with a paddle. 

“I suppose I’ll have to.” Kakashi pulled himself back on the kayak a second time. “You seem incapable of swimming without dragging someone in the water with you. Tell me who taught you to swim so I can demand a refund.”

“That’s totally not true. I’m an amazing swimmer.” He grabbed on to the back of the kayak, kicking his feet as if that was any help. 

Kakashi snorted at him. “I seem to recall you throwing Zetsu in the ocean the first time we went to Kisame’s house.”

“That’s different. He was upset at me for no reason.”

“Who says I’m not upset with you?” Kakashi glanced back at him. “I was kicked out of my boat not once, but twice.”

“As if you didn’t enjoy getting wet.” Obito flicked his fingers at him, sending a small amount of water his way. 

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him. “Rather inappropriate way of viewing the situation, don’t you think?”

“What are you-.” Obito cut himself off as he realized where Kakashi’s mind went. “Oh come on. You’ve been influenced way too much by those terrible books you read.”

“They are fantastic novels, and I’ll not hear another word about it otherwise.” 

“Closet pervert.”

“You’re just sheltered. I’ll let you borrow one.”

Obito groaned behind him. Kakashi felt the thud on his boat that most likely meant that Obito just smacked his head against it. He considered that a win which fueled him to paddle harder against the current. When they were parallel to the shore, Obito broke off and climbed back into his own boat and reapplied his life vest. 

When he got back on the water, he joined Kakashi – who grabbed onto the side of his boat so they didn’t drift apart – and checked to make sure that all of their things were still secure. When he was satisfied they were, he reached into his own bag and pulled out two bananas. As he handed one to Kakashi, he warned, “One dick joke and you’re back in the water.”

“Never.” Kakashi promised, smirking as all sorts of innuendos ran through his mind. This was such a wasted opportunity, but he wanted to ensure he was mostly dry for when they got to camp. He couldn’t say much for the waist down since water would run into his kayak when they ran through rapids. 

They allowed the water to carry them along the river and enjoyed some small talk. Talk that allowed Kakashi and Obito to find out more about each other that they seemed to miss before. Kakashi talked of his dreams for the future. Obito had already known he wanted to become a vet, but the reason was that he wanted to create a better clinic. The one in Kasai was nice, but it was constantly struggling for support since it wasn’t that close to the city. Kakashi wanted to bring more customers there, or start a branch closer to the heart of the city that would bring more money. 

In return, Obito told him of his past. How he became to be so coldhearted towards those who threatened his friends or anyone he cared about. His uncle sent him to learn martial arts as an outlet for the rage he had a child, which in hindsight was good, but at first Obito hadn’t done it for the benefit of others. He was nearly kicked out of the MMA club his first year in because of how quickly he got violent and unsportsmanlike. It wasn’t until he met Konan, Zetsu, and Nagato did things start to change. Looking back, Obito had no idea where all that rage had come from. He suspected that a lot of it came from personal frustration over lost memories and people’s pity or his uncle’s snide comments, but even he knew those weren’t legitimate reasons to lash out. 

Then they would share stories of mutual experiences. Kakashi mentioned the day he became the president of the student government association, and Obito told of how he became a captain in the MMA club. Kakashi would be the best cook in his home economic classes he took as an elective, and Obito laughed at how he managed to nearly burn down his uncle’s kitchen the first time he made bacon in an attempt to make breakfast for his uncle’s birthday. 

They spoke of how they first met. How Obito had no expectations of Kasai other than a reprieve from his uncle and the home of Itachi’s family, and how Kakashi had been surprised to see Obito – as if he was a ghost come back from the past. Their first meeting had been less than friendly, and they owed it to Konan that they had a second chance. It was thanks to her pushy personality that they were able to move past their first meeting – something that Obito apologized profusely for. Just another reason his anger got the best of him with no reasonable excuse. 

But before they could continue the conversation much longer, they could hear the sound of rushing water. They tossed the fruit peels off to the shore for wild animals to find and eat, or for it to decompose on its own, and set off to face the water. Obito allowed Kakashi to take the lead this time since it would be the biggest rapids that the river had to offer on the route Obito decided to take them. Kakashi didn’t handle it well and fell out near the end while Obito gracefully laughed at him as he floated by. Luckily at this point, Kakashi was a pro at pulling himself back up and was able to catch up before the next set of rushing water came up. 

It must have been an hour later when they finally came across an island in the center of the river that acted as their campground. They circled to a far end and pulled their boats well onto the shore near where a small fire pit had been set up. Kakashi went out to get some kindling to start a fire while Obito pulled out the tent and got to work setting it up. They didn’t bother bringing sleeping bags, but two sleeping pads were in the bag supplies by the outdoor store they had rented from. By the time Obito had everything inside set up, Kakashi was stabbing some hot dogs onto sharpened sticks. 

Together they sat by the fire while the sun started falling in the distance. Around the same time, owls started waking up and coyotes could be heard sounding off in the distance. Obito face in the direction he assumed they were coming from and frowned. “They can’t swim, can they?”

“Probably.” Kakashi answered, flipping his hot dog over before slipping it on a bun. “But I doubt they’ll cross the river just to get to us.”

“Guess they can’t be worse than wolves.”

Kakashi hesitated, concern crossing his face. “Please don’t tell me you’ve had a bad encounter with wolves before.”

“No,” Obito assured him, “But I’ve seen The Grey with Liam Neeson before. Granted, he was in the mountains, but wolves are everywhere, right?”

Kakashi chuckled, offering some ketchup from the small bottle they had packed. “Not really, but I can assure you wolves won’t cross a river just to get us either.”

Obito hummed seemingly convinced. Yet that didn’t stop him from turning and trying to identify every sound that came with the outdoors. He mistakenly took the sound of raccoons playing as something trying to sneak up on them and the sound of an owl for a dove which weren’t even nocturnal. 

By the time they had finished their dinner, both of them were dry enough to change into the next day’s clothes. Kakashi was glad to finally sit by the fire in clothes that weren’t damp, but rather than rejoin him, Obito headed towards the tent. 

“Going to sleep already?” Kakashi asked as Obito took off his shoes. 

He nodded in response. “I’m used to going to sleep early to wake up early. You can stay out here if you want.”

Yeah, because staring at a fire by himself sounded fun. Soothing as it was, he also didn’t want to risk waking Obito up if he came in at a later time. He doused the fire by kicking some dirt over it, his paranoia wouldn’t allow him to leave it burning through the night, and joined Obito inside the tent. 

The other man had already set his shoes just inside the tent so no insects would crawl into it and laid himself on the pad furthest from the door. The tent itself was made for two people, but it was still a snug fit. Neither one of them would be able to stretch out like they were used to, though it was only for one night. He zipped the tent closed and settled himself on the ground next to Obito, tucking one arm under his head. 

Just as he thought of initiating some sort of small talk again, Obito let loose a loud curse and flung himself backward into Kakashi. “Sorry.” He said quickly, reaching back to grab a shoe and slamming it down on the ground where he had been laying previously. “Spider came out of nowhere.”

Kakashi tsked at him. “Wasn’t going outdoors _your_ idea?”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like spiders.” He checked to make sure the spider was indeed dead – not like it could have survived how hard Obito had smacked it – before he placed the shoe back where it had been before.

But when he moved to go back to his previous spot, Kakashi took the opportunity to reach around Obito’s waist and pull him back. He knew he had promised that he wouldn’t force anything on him that would cause Obito to give him an answer, but with him this close Kakashi couldn’t resist. He rested his face against the back of Obito’s neck, enjoying the feel of how close they were pressed against each other. He could swear he could feel Obito’s heartbeat against his chest, but that could very well have been his own. At this point it was hard to tell. 

“No, please,” Obito said to him quietly, “Make yourself comfortable.”

Kakashi chuckled, feeling Obito shiver as the breath ran across his neck. “What was I supposed to do when you basically threw yourself at me?”

Obito made a ‘hmph’ noise at him but didn’t respond. Instead he just laid his head on his forearm in a resigned way and, Kakashi assumed, closed his eyes. He didn’t move again which made Kakashi slightly concerned. The last thing he wanted was to get Obito aggravated at him for any reason, especially on a date that he didn’t plan. 

Grudgingly, he withdrew his arm from around Obito and pulled back a bit. This caused Obito to move again, glancing back at him over his shoulder. “What? Bored already?” 

Kakashi blinked back at him. “I didn’t want my actions to upset you in any way.” 

Obito’s smirk was just barely visible in the dark before he rolled and faced Kakashi. At this point, Kakashi couldn’t back up any more and Obito had no intention of moving back to his own spot. “You really don’t have to be that careful with me, you know.”

He was well aware that Obito wasn’t a fragile person, but he was still worried of pushing too far. It took this long to get to where they were now, and he wasn’t about to ruin it. “I just don’t want-,”

“Bakakashi.” Obito interrupted, grabbing the front of Kakashi’s shirt and gently tugging it forward. “Am I going to have to spell it out for you?”

Judging from the fact that Kakashi’s mind had just turned to mush. “Yeah, you might have to.”

Obito must have failed every spelling bee in school because he didn’t spell anything at all. Instead he moved forward until their faces were so close that their lips were just barely touching. The way his half lidded eyes watched him, waiting to see what he would do next. It was like Obito was asking permission without speaking, and Kakashi was more than willing to accept. 

Kakashi let his hand run across the side of Obito’s face, along his jaw, to rest just below his ear where he pulled him forward to close any space and bring their lips together fully. He heard Obito’s sharp intake of breath and moved back, waiting for Obito to pull away and change his mind. He didn’t. He pulled Kakashi forward and kissed him again.

Both Kakashi’s mind and heart raced with the possibilities of what this meant. Of Obito accepting this entire relationship. Of accepting _him_. And as much as Kakashi would be one hundred percent okay with making out with Obito the rest of the night, he actually needed verbal confirmation that this was what he was thinking. 

In an attempt to halt the situation and of himself before anything progressed, Kakashi pushed Obito back until his back was against the mat and leaned over him, searching for any sort of reluctance. “Does this mean what I think it does?” he asked, brushing Obito’s unruly hair from over his eyes. 

The man beneath him actually appeared shocked by the question. “Oh my god.” He said with half a laugh. “You actually do want it spelled out.”

“I want to know that this is something you want as well, not something you’re doing just to make me happy.”

Obito sighed under him before wrapping both arms around Kakashi’s waist, holding them together. “I want this.”

“You’ve thought about it?”

“I’ve thought about it for a long time, but I’ve only started entertaining the idea of it actually happening once you told me you liked me.” At the silent confusion that followed, he continued, “I always thought you were attractive, Kakashi. Even the first day we met when you pissed me off, I thought you were the hottest guy to enter that bar. And the more we hung out, the more I realized you had this amazing personality to match.”

“Why not say something sooner?” Kakashi questioned. “You must have had some sort of idea how I felt.”

The awkward squirm beneath him was hard to miss at this proximity. “I…did.”

“What held you back?”

The arms around him tightened slightly. “I didn’t remember you. If that wasn’t problem enough, I found out we used to date when we were younger. What if you were just interested in the me I don’t remember rather than the me I am now?” He leaned his head back with a slightly aggravated sigh. “And I _know_ that’s a irrational thought because you’re old enough and smart enough to know the difference. I know you wouldn’t go through so much for me if you were clinging to a memory, but that doesn’t stop my mind from going to the worst case scenario over the dumbest things. I can’t help it. I’m being stupid by overthinking it and-,”

This time Kakashi was the one to cut him off by bringing their lips together again. Obito didn’t seem to be offended because he was already leaning back into it with just as much eagerness as Kakashi.

“You’re right.” Kakashi said between kissing him and remembering that breathing was important. “You are stupid.”

“Jerk.” Obito muttered, gently biting his lower lip which caused Kakashi to retaliate by deepening their kiss.

Somehow this was so much better than Kakashi birthday. To be this close and know that it _meant_ something. That there was no question that Obito wanted him just as much. That from this point on, Kakashi could call Obito _his_. No more wanting to toss girls off the nearest cliff for trying to flirt with Obito. No more throwing obvious hints and watching them completely miss their target. That this was real, and not some fantasy playing in his mind. 

His heart skipped when he felt Obito’s hand stray from his waist to his stomach then move up, dragging his shirt with it. The cool night air was a contrast the fire of Obito’s skin against his. They splayed across his chest, playing with his nerves and leaving trails of heat wherever they went. He moaned against Obito’s lips, leaning into the touch and tightening his own grip on Obito’s hair. How long had he imagined holding him like this?

In this moment, he had no idea how Obito could have thought that Kakashi was chasing a memory. He would never kiss Obito like this when they were children, and never want to feel his hands on his body the same way. Would never want to run his tongue against Obito’s and enjoy the taste that was so uniquely his. The way that he smelled, the way that he moved under him. Kakashi trembled slightly when Obito ran his nails lightly over his lower abdomen, stopping just above where his shorts were. He might actually lose his mind if Obito’s hands didn’t stop teasing his skin. 

But Obito wasn’t willing to let him go with just that. He left Kakashi’s lips to leave a trail of kisses along his jaw, to nip playfully at his ear, then further down his neck. The sound of Kakashi’s ragged breath and soft moans urged him on as he licked and teased the same spot, fully intending on leaving a lasting mark. Their friend’s future jokes aside, Obito wanted the world to know that Kakashi belonged to him. He wanted Kakashi to notice it every time he looked in a mirror and realize that Obito had left it there. He took his time leaving small bite marks before running his tongue over them, feeling the tremors of Kakashi’s body reacting to the special treatment. 

Then, whether intentionally or not, Kakashi moved against him in a way that sent all blood rushing straight down. Obito gasped, halting his movement and digging his nails into Kakashi’s skin as if to hold him still. He tried to get himself under control, but it didn’t help when Kakashi came back to reclaim his lips with his own. To taste him fully again, running his hands down Obito’s waist sending chills everywhere they made contact. God did it feel so good. And when Kakashi shifted again, Obito believed he might actually whimper. If Kakashi didn’t stop doing that, then Hidan’s earlier assumptions might actually come true. As much as Obito wouldn’t mind that, it felt too fast. Too soon to try something so intimate and in the middle of the woods at that. Kakashi deserved so much better then actions done in the heat of a moment. 

With more of an effort than Obito had ever had to use mentally, he pulled away from Kakashi until the only thing between them was the sound of their heavy breathing. Even during this time of night and with the only light in their tent coming from the stars and moon and dying fire, Kakashi looked absolutely stunning above him. The way the light shown through his silver hair and highlight the features of his face. Obito ran his fingers against Kakashi cheek, feeling a wave of happiness when Kakashi turned his head slightly to kiss the palm of his hand. If he wasn’t the hottest thing on this planet right now, Obito had no idea what was.

“Are you okay?” Kakashi asked when he realized the hand against his stomach was actually holding him back.

Obito had to take a deep breath to steady himself. “More than okay. You?”

He could almost see Kakashi’s gaze drop a few inches. “I want to kiss you again.”

That succeeded in bringing a laugh out of him. “And as much as I would love to let you, I know that if I did then we would not be going to sleep tonight.”

“The noise would definitely scare away the coyotes.”

Obito moved his hand away from Kakashi’s stomach just enough to slap him lightly where it had previously been. “Aren’t _you_ supposed to be the responsible one?”

Kakashi actually groaned before dropping to rest his head against Obito’s chest. “No fair. I want to be the spontaneous one for once.”

The Uchiha grinned, running his hand through Kakashi’s hair, laying it across his chest in areas it was long enough. “You can always make me breakfast in bed tomorrow.”

“That still sounds responsible.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something. You always do.”

Kakashi hummed, tucking his arms on both sides of Obito and shifting to make himself more comfortable and, thankfully, removing his knee from between Obito’s legs. “Can I stay like this?”

Obito wasn’t in any hurry to move either and wrapped his arm around Kakashi like he was an overgrown teddy bear. “Fine with me.”

 

“Oh my god, what is _that_?!” Konan shouted, nearly dropping all the groceries she had been carrying inside which would have been a bad thing because one of the items she was carrying was eggs. 

Obito glanced up from the couch where he was playing his Xbox and frowned. “What is what?”

“That!” she pointed at him.

He rolled his eyes and returned to the game. “You’re going to have to be a little more specific. I’m a little busy so if it’s a spider, get it off. I’m a little done with those eight legged freaks.”

She set the bags down and walked over to him, grabbing his shirt and pulling it down to reveal a red mark against his neck. “This, Obito, explain this.”

His cheeks turned pink and he became a little flustered, clearly affecting his gameplay for in the next second he was shot at point blank. “It’s a hickey, Konan. It’s not the first time I’ve had one.”

“Who gave it to you?”

He turned and grinned at her. “My boyfriend.”

Her eyes widened before her grin matched his. “Really?!”

“Yeah. We, uh, made it official sometime yesterday.”

“Is that why you texted me saying you would be late getting home.”

His face grew darker shades of red. “Something like that.”

“Obito, this is great! I need to tell everyone. Where’s my phone?!”

“No!” he got up and chased after her. “Not yet! Don’t tell anyone before we get a chance to, damnit!”

“The people need to know, Obito!”

“Woman, stop your meddling.” He laughed, picking her up and shaking her from side to side. “We plan on telling everyone tomorrow when we are _together_. Right now he got called into work and I’m not going to deal with all of you on my own.”

She groaned and drooped her shoulders in surrender. “Fine, I won’t tell our friends.”

“Good.” He set her down and took a step back towards his Xbox.

“I’m just going to tell my Tumblr followers.” She bolted to her room.

Obito sighed before chasing after her again. “No, wait, stop! Seriously, Konan, I will break your phone over this and toss all of your makeup in the toilet. I’ll tell Yahiko that you peed the bed until you were ten!”

“That’s a lie and you can’t stop the truth, Obito!”

“I hate you!”

She just laughed as she logged in and began typing frantically as he pounded on her bedroom door.


	20. A Better Reunion

He had been tossing and turning all night. Every time he seemed to calm down, even slightly, it was quickly followed by a soft groan and hard twitch. Like something was attacking him, or chasing him. At first glance it was like watching a dog chasing a squirrel in a dream, but Kakashi had been watching this happen for a while now. Whatever Obito was dreaming, it clearly wasn’t good.

With a prayer that he wasn’t about to get punched, Kakashi reached over and shook his shoulder slightly. “Hey,” he tried softly. “Obito, hey, wake up.”

The response was instant and actually caused Kakashi to jump in response. Obito sat up rapidly, glancing frantically around the room like he expected something to come crashing in through the walls. He actually flinched when Kakashi pushed himself away from the mattress to sit up as well.

“Kakashi.” Obito breathed his name, with more relief than someone who just woke up should have, before wiping at his face to remove the sweat that had accumulated there. He took a deep breath and observed around him again, this time with less panic. The last time he had been awake, the lights had been on. A sharp contrast to the now hardly lit room. “Done with homework?”

Earlier that night Obito had come over to escape his own apartment under the excuse that Konan and Yahiko were refusing to get a room. Not having any consoles over at Hatake’s apartment, and with the determination to remain ignorant to the glorious form of literature that Kakashi read, Obito had laid across his bed and played on his phone while Kakashi worked at his desk. At some point he had passed out, and with no intention of sending him back Kakashi had crawled into bed next to him. It wasn’t the first time they shared a bed anyway. 

“I’ve been done.” Kakashi tried not to let his concern show. One thing he learned about Obito over all this time, it was that he didn’t like to be babied. If he wanted to act like his nightmare was nothing, Kakashi wasn’t going to play therapist and make him talk about it.

Obito wiped at his face again, this time to remove the sleep caught up in his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Around four I think.” Kakashi glanced at his phone to confirm his guess. “Do you have work this morning?”

“Night shift. Did I wake you?”

“No, I’ve been awake for the last few minutes at least. Your dream seemed pretty exciting. Want to share?”

After a brief moment of thought, Obito shook his head. “No. I don’t really remember what it was about. I’m…. going to go home.”

“Wait, hang on.” Kakashi quickly reached for him and pulled him back down. He expected some sort of resistance, but Obito allowed himself to be drawn back against Kakashi’s chest. Whatever he had been dreaming of had clearly shaken him if he was wanting to leave this early. Whether he realized it or not, Kakashi could tell that his eyes kept darting around them. So Kakashi thought of the lamest excuse he could think of in order to distract him. “If you go back now, you might be subject to Yahiko’s snoring. Didn’t you used to tell me of the times he fell asleep on the couch and shook the whole apartment?”

“True,” Obito admitted, a smile sneaking its way on his face. “But what makes you think I want to be subject to yours?”

Kakashi laughed at that, falling back on the mattress and pulling his boyfriend down with him. He wouldn’t say it aloud seeing how easily Obito got embarrassed, but Kakashi loved the feel of him there. “I don’t snore.”

Obito reached back and pulled Kakashi’s face towards him before lightly tapping his nose. “Do so. You sound like a train wreck and a tornado got in a fight. I’m surprised we don’t all hear Yamato complaining all the time.”

“ _Excuse me_? If I snore, you are the most restless sleeper I know. Should I show you all the bruises you gave me during our camping trip? Or remind you of the time we shared a bed at Chikyū? You’re like a ninja fighting off an army.”

“Should _I_ show _you_ the bruises I got sleeping on that mat with you on top of me? Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.”

Even in the dark room, it was hard to miss Kakashi’s eyebrow lifting humorously at that comment. Obito could groan at how that mind turned inappropriate so quickly sometimes. They had only been dating around two weeks now and already it was like he was seeing a whole new side of him. In front of their friends, Kakashi was a very laid back guy who often kept to himself and was satisfied with simply watching. When it was just them, he became much more playful and a lot more direct. Or maybe Obito had never really noticed before because he hadn’t been trying to know Kakashi in any way other than as friends.

“Right, now I’m really leaving.” Obito pushed away from him, stretching one more time before standing. “The gym opens in an hour anyway, so I may as well go home and get ready.”

Kakashi followed him to the edge of the bed, grabbing onto the bottom of Obito’s shirt. Yeah, like that was seriously going to stop him. If Obito wanted, he could easily pull away. Kakashi was just doing his best to guilt trip him into staying. “You’re leaving an hour early?”

“Are you pouting?”

“No.”

“Mhmm.” That was an obvious lie. Kakashi was absolutely pouting and worse was the fact that Obito was way too easily persuaded. Those slouching shoulders and big searching eyes were all but screaming at Obito to turn his happy butt around. Gah, could he look any more adorable? “It’s like I’m watching you turn into a toddler who’s about to lose his favorite toy.”

Kakashi huffed at him, crossing his arms and competing the image. “Yeah, well, from here it looks like my boyfriend is just trying to leave me. Apparently, I’m just not good enough for him. He just can’t wait to go home.”

“Oh, don’t _even_.” Obito laughed at the pathetic taunt that was working a lot more than he wanted to admit. “What do you care what I do? You’re the one who needs to go back to sleep because you have morning shifts.”

“No, it’s okay.” Kakashi fell back against his pillows with an overdramatic sigh. He even lifted his arm above his head like some damsel from a 70s film. “I get it. You don’t want to stay, that’s cool. I’ll just see you later then.”

“Kakashi-.”

“No, really.” Kakashi gave Obito his back, somehow deflating even more. How did he even do that? The man had some love for theatrics. “Just go on. Have fun at the gym.”

Obito frowned down at him. “You serious?”

“Yep. Go ahead. I’m going to go back to sleep. By myself. Alone.” Another depressed sigh. 

“Alright, fine. I’m going.” Obito shifted near the end of the bed, trying to find his shoes and socks where he had kicked them off. All the while kept an eye on the man who was obviously fake sniffing. 

Kakashi shrugged on the bed, indifferently. 

Obito walked towards the bedroom door, putting his hand over the handle and turned to the overgrown child. “No, really, I’m leaving.”

Kakashi shrugged again and turned away, once more giving Obito his back. 

Oh no. There it was. Obito could actually see his resolve crumbling as he looked down at Kakashi. He really was too adorable to argue with, especially when he knew that Obito didn’t really want to leave. With a groan and flurry of insults in his head for the both of them, Obito let the shoes drop to the floor and crawled back onto the mattress, drawing himself up to lay against Kakashi’s back. He tucked his face against the back of his neck that had a mixed smell of shampoo and something uniquely Kakashi. Even rested a hand on Kakashi’s hip, pulling him back so he could rest in a more comfortable position. He could almost hear the cheers going on in his boyfriend’s head as he realized he was winning.

“I hate you.” He lied in Kakashi’s ear. “You’re so annoying.”

“I knew you’d stay.” Kakashi’s chuckled. Damn him. “You’re so gullible, Obito.”

Obito scoffed, pulling away again. “Screw you. Moment ruined. I’m out.”

“No!” Kakashi twirled and made quick on trapping Obito under him which really just meant he was going to lay on Obito and hope he didn’t move. A move he had learned from his dog: Bull. “I was kidding? See me smiling? It was a joke.”

“Mhmm.” Obito hummed disbelievingly a second time. “I think you’re very good at lying.”

“Me? Never.” 

“Will you two _shut up_?” Yamato’s call sounded through the apartment, freezing the two of them in place. Neither one had realized when their voices had gone above a whisper. Boy, did he sound completely pissed off at the two of them. “I _swear to god_ I will go in there and unleash hell if you wake me up again.” It was followed swiftly by the sound of a slamming door that they hadn’t even heard being opened in the first place. 

Kakashi dipped his face into the crook of Obito’s neck as if to hide there. “You think he’s mad?”

Obito exhaled the air he had been holding, feeling much like a child whose parents caught him awake past bedtime. “I wasn’t even sure he was capable of the emotion aside from when Zetsu beats him online.” 

He patted Kakashi’s side, instructing him to get off, before making his way back to his shoes. As it was, they were both too awake and him staying would only make it worse for Yamato. He didn’t even know if the boy had work in a few hours or not and the last thing Obito wanted to do was give him any reason to kick him out of the apartment. Plus, Kakashi really did need to go back to sleep. He didn’t need to be tired and dealing with syringes and animals. Somehow Obito didn’t see that going over very well in his head. 

Ignoring the dejected look his boyfriend was giving him when he realized he was serious this time, Obito placed a quick kiss to his forehead then grabbed his phone from the nightstand. “See you later?”

“Fine…” Kakashi drug the word out, chasing it with a yawn. 

Obito would just have to find a way to make it up to him later, which wasn’t too hard actually. One thing he had found was that it wasn’t that hard to make Kakashi happy. It could be because they were still new to their relationship and satisfied to simply be around each other, but Kakashi wasn’t a very needy guy. He didn’t have the same get up and go attitude that Obito had. Where Kakashi would be content to watch clouds go by, Obito need to be proactive in something. That was a good thing though, because it meant they could chase their hobbies and have time away from each other without getting sick of always being together. 

Case in point as Obito snuck through the living room trying his best to not wake Yamato up. He managed to make it through the apartment and out the door without much noise, but somehow tripped on something in his own kitchen. Who left an orange peel just laying around? He was going to kill Konan when he got back from the gym. Or before. It would be a good warmup. Luckily for her, she and Yahiko were in her room and not in the living room. Last time he had come home, they had passed out watching some boring chick flick. 

He tossed the orange peel in the trash after much deliberation – he wanted to put it in front of their door and pray for revenge only to think better of it – and went to his room to find some clothes and shower supplies. Most of it was already prepacked in a duffle bag, so after finding clothes that were actually clean he found his keys and made for the school gym.

 

“No, Hidan, I do not want to go on a double date with two people you met from another bar.” Sasori said with a sort of final tone. “Your taste in anyone from the same race as us can hardly be considered tasteful or healthy. For all I know, they’ve managed to contract every form of disease known to man. Or they consider prison a holiday home.”

Hidan, instead of getting offended, laughed openly like he could imagine it himself. “You’re probably right, but come on. She’s fun and you’re boring. Perfect match!”

“Unlike _somebody_ ,” Sasori gestured towards Obito who frowned in response. “The rest of us don’t need our friends to play matchmaker. Find someone else. Maybe Kisame. He’s been moping around since _somebody_ ,” another gesture that had Obito rolling his eyes, “decided that they weren’t going to be single anymore.”

“I can’t. Plus, he’s interested in someone else already. Actually, I think you might know them, Sasori.”

Obito was suddenly leaning over the counter towards them, sharing an interested look along with his red-haired counterpart. Kisame? Interested in someone? For real this time? “Seriously? Who?”

“I promised not to tell, so don’t ask.” 

“But I already did, so who is it?” And how was it that Hidan knew and no one else did? What sort of drug criminal warlord had Kisame found?

Hidan simply flipped them off and took a large drink from the glass Obito slid in front of him a few minutes earlier. 

Giving up, Obito left to cater to more guests while Sasori returned to the subject at hand. “What about Yamato? If we’re going by how you categorize people, he’s boring just like me.”

“But he’s too much of a good person. I need someone who’s willing to rob a bank or at least dish out an insult after taking one.”

“We’re not all masochistic like you, idiot.” Sasori returned to the book he had brought along, flipping the page with an uninterested look. “Your last option is Deidara.”

Hidan looked about ready to say no to that idea but then stopped and actually considered. “You know, he might work too. They’re actually going to meet me soon, so maybe you can walk out with me and see if it’s someone Deidara would be interested in. You and him got this ‘art is life’ persona so I’m sure whatever you like, he would like too.”

With a droll stare, Sasori responded, “What, are they under twenty-one? Just have them come in here.”

“They’re banned from this bar.”

That succeeded in pulling Sasori’s interest back and his gaze turned curious. He made sure Obito was out of earshot before leaning towards his friend. “This the same guy who threw a glass at Obito’s head?”

“Yeah!” Hidan said excitedly. So much for loyalty to Obito if he was trying to get with someone who physically injured his friend. “I got into a fight with one of his friends a few weeks back and actually ended up talking with them. His friend’s an asshole and also super weak, but the others seem alright. Plus, that was a long time ago with his incident with Obito. I doubt either one of them really remember it.”

Sasori shook his head at Hidan, finding himself hardly surprised by any of this. Leave it to him to find someone violent to go on a date with and try to drag his friends along on a psychotic ride. “Don’t get murdered, Hidan. I don’t want to pay rent on my own.”

Downing the rest of the drink with a snort, Hidan replied, “I think I’ve proven I can handle a lot. You remember when I went out on a date with Kidomaru? Bro was into some really serious bondage and let me tell you-.”

“Please don’t.” Sasori interrupted before his ears started bleeding, not wanting to have to call a therapist so soon in his life. It was enough learning the sort of things that Kakuzu was into, he didn’t want to learn Hidan’s kinks either. In fact, Hidan’s were probably a lot worse. Why was he even friends with people like this anyway?

Yet as Obito walked back over to rejoin the conversation, he remembered. Some of his friends were sane enough to balance out the crazy. With the additions of their local Kasai friends, he had hoped that some of that sanity would rub off. He was wrong, of course, but at least there was more normality in his life. He lived for moments where he had relaxing days with Itachi or Asuma, or Nagato. 

“Your loss.” Hidan shrugged, much to Sasori’s disagreement. “Hey, Tobi, tell Sasori how it’s completely okay to go on dates with those who threw glass at your face.”

Obito paused midway from his cleaning of the counter. He passed a confused look to Sasori, who just sighed, then back. “What?”

“You remember Zabuza, yeah? I’m going to see if Deidara wants to go on a double date with him and his friend Ameyuri.” 

“Are you- but that’s- he’s an asshole! You realize he’s an extremely violent guy, right?”

“I know!” His friend replied with a smile. “That’s the fun part! Come on, I haven’t gone on a date in forever. Be happy for me, would you? Imagine what we would be doing for a date.”

“I’d rather not.” Obito repressed a shudder, sharing Sasori’s feelings on the entire ordeal. 

“Then promise you’ll bail me out of jail if I need it.” 

“Only if you don’t kill anyone. I’m not a miracle worker, Hidan, my connections only go so far. And you forget my other uncle is in charge of the local station here and he hates me more than Madara does.”

Interested again, Sasori piped back into the conversation. “I didn’t think anyone hated you more than Madara.”

“Madara dislikes me, but we understand each other. Sometimes at least. Fugaku can’t even stand to be in the same room as me. He kicks me out of his house any time I try to visit Sasuke.” Obito finished cleaning the rest of the counter rather aggressively. “And when I say kick me out, I mean he literally throws me out of the house.”

“What did you do? Piss in his cornflakes?” Hidan scooted the empty cup towards him. “Tell him that he looks like the inside of a sphincter?” 

Sasori snorted into his book while Obito took the glass to refill it. He could only imagine how his uncle would have responded to _that_ insult. “No idea. To this day, I can’t remember a single thing I’ve ever said that would eternally make him hate me.”

“Maybe it’s because you stole Itachi?” Sasori offered. 

Fair assumption. Itachi was the golden child of that family and was always being forced to live up to high expectations and unrealistic goals. Not even Madara had made Obito jump through the same hoops that Fugaku made Itachi do. When Itachi left to go to college in Chikyū, his father had nearly lost his mind and when on a blaming spree – mostly pointing Obito’s direction for his ‘bad influence’. 

Obito slipped a full glass back and picked his rag up once more. “I guess. Keep us on speed dial if you need someone to bail you out.” He told Hidan before moving down the line. “Just don’t expect me to make nice with him. I try not to make it a habit of befriending people who piss me off.”

“And yet he’s dating Hatake?” Hidan whispered to Sasori, earning him a glare from Obito that said he had heard. 

Sasori nudged him away, needing his personal bubble to not be intruded upon. “Don’t make your get out of jail free card mad at you.”

“Even if I do, Kakuzu is a good backup.”

Somehow Sasori could see Kakuzu leaving him there just to teach him a lesson. Hidan was ever the masochist and might actually enjoy the company of those in prison and Kakuzu would be more than happy to watch the struggle. Might even pay money to make sure there’s a prison fight. The two of them had something wrong with them, and Sasori often wondered what happened in their upbringing to make them that way. As dumb as the rest of them had been in Chikyū when dealing with authority figures, they never tested the limits to the point where it could permanently effect their lives. Yet here Hidan was, wanting to go out with a known aggressor and violent drunk while Kakuzu was seeing just how far he could push bank laws when it came to getting money from those who owed it. He could make a man who owed $100 pay back nearly triple that amount. 

Yeah, his friends were certainly an interesting bunch. 

“Hey, Obito, want to tag along and follow Hidan on his double date? We can start placing bets on how long it lasts until someone gets in a fight.” Sasori suggested when the Uchiha came back around. 

Hidan perked up at the thought. “Speaking of bets, Itachi and Kurenai owe me some money.”

Sasori seemed shocked by the news. “For what?” Since when did anyone owe Hidan, well, anything?

The white-haired man held his hands up to Obito. “How long it would take for Obito and Kakashi to get freaky together.”

Obito’s hand instantly flew to his neck where the mark Kakashi had left on him was still just faintly visible while his cheeks became inflamed. “That counts?”

“With you?” Hidan answered with a look that said it was obvious. “Absolutely. But if you want to settle some more bets, tell me how far you guys actually got. Who got in whose pants first?”

“No one! We haven’t slept with each other yet! I mean, we have, but not like _that_.” Obito said quickly then glanced around at other guests before becoming more flustered. “Shut up, Hidan.”

“Anyway,” Sasori butted back in. “Yes or no, Obito? Want to tag along and mess with them? If nothing happens, we can start pelting them with dick shaped gummy bears.”

Which reminded Obito of the time they had done that in the theater. They had snuck into some extremely girly movie that had teenage heartthrobs in it and thrown gummy candies at people who looked like they were deeply enthralled in the film. Depending on how obsessed the girl looked, they would lick the gummy bears first. If it stuck to any part of the victim, bonus points. It was all okay until one of those girls ended up being Konan…

“Can’t.” Obito said finally. “I’m going to be busy this weekend.”

“Boo.” Hidan countered. “Weren’t you busy this past weekend and the one before that? Where are you going this time?”

Obito shifted behind the counter, reaching to throw the rag into a bucket. “Family stuff.”

“Your family is too big. Surely they won’t miss you for one family gathering.”

“For this they would.” Obito assured him before turning to Sasori, “And Itachi is going with me, so don’t think of asking him either.”

Sasori sighed at the mention that his third runner up partner in crime became unavailable. With Deidara, Obito, and now Itachi unavailable, there weren’t many people that would make stalking Hidan any fun. Unless a certain silver haired friend was going to be busy as well. “Are you stealing Kakashi too?”

“I hadn’t thought to ask, but probably. I’ll see if he has work when I meet up with him tonight. And no, Hidan, get your mind out of the gutter and stop doing that at my work.” He reached over to slap at Hidan’s hands which were making an inappropriate gesture. “Where did you learn manners?”

“Grand Theft Auto V.” Hidan fired back.

“I take everything I might have implied back. You and that Zabuza guy are perfect for each other. You guys go have fun destroying the city or whatever it is you do for fun.”

Ha, like Hidan was going to spend his time destroying the city. That was only on Tuesdays. 

Obito went back to work, dishing out drinks to customers and dealing with groups of people who wanted him to spend too much of his time doing fancy drinks, while Hidan began badgering Deidara over text message. He was smart enough to do it over group chat without checking first, which caused everyone to jump on the bandwagon of insults for their friend. Obito had to mute his phone along with Sasori who had no interest in the love affairs of the psychotic. Judging from how Hidan could barely type one response before another showed up, the rest of their friend group was being brutal. 

At some point Hidan announced that it was time to go and meet up with his newfound friends and made for the exit after promising Obito that he wouldn’t end up on tomorrows news. The Uchiha was nothing but insistent on keeping his friends out of his family’s spotlight for any negative reason. With him gone, Sasori grew bored and decided to head home to continue reading his book someplace where people weren’t yelling at sports on the television. 

Being a weeknight, there weren’t many customers to keep Obito busy and he found himself wandering around with not much else to do but pester the locals. Tsunade didn’t really seem to mind since most of the regular customers liked Obito anyway and it developed a friendly atmosphere. He soon found himself back by the pool tables, leaning against one of the decorative wooden pillars that littered the building and chatting with a group of three men he saw often. They would come in complaining about their wives, but at the end of the night they all expressed an interest in going home to see their families. Typical men’s night. Often time they would warn Obito to avoid ever having children so he never had to deal with the stress of raising them, but would turn around and show him pictures of their most recent family trips.

Stories like those were what made his slow nights so pleasant. Having no memories of early childhood, Obito felt like he was re-experiencing it through his customer’s children. Their trips to theme parks, their reactions to meeting their cartoon character heroes, or the joy of blowing out candles on their birthday cake. Madara tried in the beginning, and perhaps it was Obito’s fault for lashing out all the time that they didn’t get along as adults, but Obito didn’t have many pleasant memories of growing up. There was only so much a man who lived for his job could do or a child who hated the world wanted. 

One of the trio who had long blonde hair, multiple shades lighter than Deidara’s, came up to sling his arm around Obito’s neck. “Check this out, kid.” He pulled his sleeve back to reveal a very poorly drawn picture of a flower. “My daughter caught me while I was taking a nap. Isn’t it the most precious thing you ever saw?”

“Looks like a turd with some frilly string on it.” His rather large friend laughed. “My boy can make better art with his food than your girl can with markers.”

“You always think of food.” The last man scolded. “Shikamaru takes after me in the fact he doesn’t get worked up over troublesome things. I hand that boy a book and he’s occupied for hours.”

Obito wished his younger self could be so easily entertained. He always wanted to be outside and doing something rather than being stuck indoors with arts and crafts. Sadly, a city wasn’t always the safest place for a kid his age to be running around alone and Madara insisted that a nanny wasn’t necessary. 

“Ino is a wonderful artist, isn’t she, Obito?” Inoichi nudged his bartender, trying to get an ally. 

With a shrug, Obito picked up their empty bottles to take back behind the counter. “If she was aiming for the flower from Horton Hears a Who, she nailed it.”

Inoichi shoved him away lightly with a noise of failure. “You guys suck. My little girl is an artist!”

“Keep telling yourself that, my friend.” Shikaku handed his card over to Obito. “Put theirs on mine as well.”

“Yes, sir.”

“ _Yes, sir_.” Choza scoffed, intercepting Obito and messing with his already wild hair. “Look at him being all polite to us. _Sir_. My friends, I fear we’ve aged poorly to be addressed like such old men.”

Obito did his best to wiggle free with his hands full. Fortunately, he was used to drunk people being clingy, but trying to get out of their grips were near impossible. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to upset you, Grampa.” He shuffled the bottles to one arm and patted Choza on the shoulder, attempting to hint at release. “And please let me know when I should fetch your glasses for you. The last pool shot you took was abysmal. I’m pretty sure the eight ball is not the cue ball.”

Inoichi and Shikaku howled and laughter while Choza sputtered useless comebacks at him. In the end, he turned on his friends and decided to prove them all wrong with ‘the shot that would end the game’. It took him a few tries, but he managed to actually hit the cue ball…right into one of the pockets. 

Leaving them to it, Obito left to close their tabs. He took the time behind the register to check his phone – something he had been quite obsessed with since he and Kakashi became a couple. Honeymoon phase indeed. He was like a schoolgirl hanging on to any words. And happily his new favorite person had sent him a text since the last time he checked.

> Kakashi: Some interesting things happened since you went to work. Should I tell you now or let it be a surprise?

Typical cryptic. Obito was never good at surprises and it was one of the prime reasons he didn’t like horror films. Kakashi, however, loved to throw mystery when there was no need for it.

> Obito: Tell me now.

He stalled for time by closing Shikaku’s check in the most roundabout way while he waited for Kakashi to text him back. It didn’t take long either. Before Obito had even swiped the card, his phone lit up with a picture notification. Somehow Obito had it in his mind that Kakashi finally convinced his roommate to let him bring a dog into the apartment, yet as he opened that message his heart leapt. In a good or bad way, he wasn’t sure. It was always so hard to tell when it came to family.

> Obito: What is my Uncle Izuna there?

Who knew what that man was doing. The last time they saw it each other, Obito had attacked him and got thrown in jail. Not the usual interaction he would have with one of the few family members he liked, but they hadn’t exactly left on good terms. People always wondered why Obito abstained from alcohol, and here was a prime reason.

But why was he here? Izuna never had to go on trips to other cities like Madara had. His job always kept him in one central location and he never bothered to take pleasure trips before. Obito highly doubted that he was here just to visit for fun, even if it was just to pick some fun at his expense. 

He quickly returned Shikaku’s property to him then all but dove behind the counter for his phone. Kakashi was on the ball to answer him back, which made Obito wonder if he was just that bored or if Izuna was there looking over his shoulder.

> Kakashi: To visit his cute little nephew.
> 
> Obito: But why is he at YOUR apartment?
> 
> Kakashi: He was at yours until Konan told him I lived next door.

Great, Konan was on her way to making his life difficult except this time instead of throwing him at a really hot guy, she was throwing them both at his family. At least Izuna had been acceptant of Obito’s lifestyle, contrast to the rest of the Uchiha, but the stark difference was that Izuna lived to mess with Obito as well. He and Konan would get along flawlessly.

> Kakashi: Please help. I’m being interrogated.

He had no idea. Izuna could have easily dragged him to Kasai’s prison just to interrogate him there professionally just for the giggles of watching him freak out. Though knowing Kakashi, he was probably sitting across from him on the couch in a relaxed position and texting Obito like he was ordering a pizza. The man was the perfect image of calm and Obito only wished he had half of that talent.

> Obito: One more hour. Just hold out till then.

Then, in a separate chat, he messaged his uncle.

> Obito: Get out of my boyfriend’s apartment. 
> 
> Izuna: So it WAS you he was texting. I knew it!
> 
> Kakashi: Thanks a lot, Obito.

Whoops. Well that certainly backfired.

> Kakashi: He’s now asking me how far we’ve progressed in our relationship. What do I tell him?
> 
> Obito: That it’s none of his business! Kick him out, Kakashi, you’re allowed to do that.
> 
> Kakashi: … He’s suggesting birth control for your PMS.

Obito was going to _kill_ him when he got home. Was going to tie his uncle up in the nearest rope or tape he could find and throw his unwelcome butt out the nearest window. Or put laxatives in his food. Shave a part of his head. Draw on him in permanent marker. Put his hand in warm water as he slept. Obito would have his revenge. He did not have PMS!

He spent the next few minutes pacing between his phone and the few customers that littered the area. Choza, Inoichi, and Shikaku left shortly after into their taxi, and after them a few others headed out leaving the bar emptier than it had been before. Even Tsunade joined him at the bar with little else to do except bug him about who he was texting. Not like he was trying to hide his phone at work anyway. Tsunade hardly cared what he did so long as customers were satisfied and he did his job proficiently. It was one of the reasons he loved to have her as a boss. That and she was just as amused to the entire situation as he was annoyed by it.

> Kakashi: You never told me that when you were younger you signed Madara up for a bunch of porn websites. 

Tsunade chuckled behind her margarita while Obito relished the memory. That had been after an argument they had that although Obito had no idea how it began, he knew exactly how it ended: with Obito claiming that Madara needed to chill out before he died alone. Granted signing him up on adult websites had been a little much, it was still hilarious to watch his uncle wonder where all these crazy emails had been coming from. Obito had almost gotten away with it too but he couldn’t hold himself together when Madara opened one particular email that made an abundance of rather intriguing noises while they had company over.

“I was grounded from technology for two months for that with the only exception being for school.” Obito explained to his boss before relaying the same message to his boyfriend. “Totally worth it.”

“How old were you when you did that?” 

“I was in eighth grade so…thirteen? Fourteen?”

“I’m so glad I chose you to be my bartender.” She mused as he took her empty glass. “Don’t bother making another one. I’m going to close early tonight. At the rate we’re going tonight, we’ll most likely be losing money than getting any.”

Obito agreed completely but wisely kept his opinions to himself. Despite not being the brightest crayon in the box, he wasn’t about to overstep his position and make any sort of comment on the bar’s income. “I’ll clean up after the last customers leave if you wanted to head out early.”

“I’ll help you on my way out.” She turned in her chair towards the customers and in a loud, tipsy voice announced, “Alright, you bunch of lowlifes, out of my bar. We’re closing.”

They were met with a sound of complain which she instantly stamped out with authority. Then she was met with light bickering as they poked fun at her for being more manly and feminine. Obito was sure he was about to witness murder as Tsunade’s face turned furious, but the men ran from the bar faster than anything he had seen. They even left a dust trail in their wake. 

He quickly retrieved their abandoned bottles and moved to take all the dishes to the back and trash to the recyclables. He then worked at ensuring the front half of the building was clean. Tables, floors, anything behind the counter, and the pool tables along with a few of the waitresses who shared his shift. Naturally they all worked faster at the idea of being able to leave early and Obito took the time to figure out what he was going to say to his uncle. Why was he even here? It couldn’t be for this weekend or he would have made a habit of seeking him out every year. Izuna had never done that before, nor anyone else from his family. And he only just found out about Kakashi (he assumed) so it couldn’t be that either. 

Why? Why couldn’t his family be normal and use a phone before coming?

With a quick check around the building, he followed his other co-workers out the back and made for his car. The ride home was the shortest he had ever been through, and he had to constantly check to ensure he wasn’t speeding. He got to the complex, skipping stairs by two, and burst into Kakashi’s apartment without so much of a knock on the door.

The scene that greeted him was extremely comical and it was hard to avoid laughing at his boyfriend’s expense. Kakashi was sitting in his usual chair, head resting on his knuckles, with half lidded eyes and a zoned-out look. At least until he turned to see Obito enter the room and a thankful light came into them. Izuna had been on a non-stop story about something back in his college years and broke off with a slightly annoyed sigh when he realized that no one was really listening anymore.

“Welcome back.” Kakashi greeted as Obito flopped down on the couch next to him. “I was just being told of a riveting story about…uh…”

“About my trip to the mountains!” Izuna informed him, apparently hurt to realize that his amazing story telling skills had been blatantly ignored. “I was finding my spirit animal! Weren’t you listening?”

“It was a chipmunk, by the way.” Obito said, much to his uncle’s protest. “So why the random visit, Uncle? Did I forget something in Chikyū?”

Izuna frowned at him. “Why does everyone assume I need a reason to see you?”

“Because in the Uchiha family, we never do anything for each other just for the heck of it. At least that was the lesson Madara drilled into me when I lived with him.”

“So jaded.” Izuna’s face twisted in pity. “You are just like him, you know?”

“I am not!”

“You are so! I went to see him for lunch yesterday and all I get is ‘what are you doing here, Izuna’ and ‘you know I don’t like spicy chicken, Izuna’.”

“That doesn’t mean we’re alike! It just means your acting strange. Are you dying, uncle? Got a tumor in your brain the size of your brother?”

“Oh ha-ha, nephew. You two also take swipes at each other like it’s your favorite game. Someone at the office messes up and all the sudden they’re ‘pulling an Obito’.”

Obito gasped at him. “He actually says that?”

Kakashi snorted next to him mumbling Izuna’s last words under his breath only to silence himself at Obito’s glare. It wasn’t like he was trying to take Madara’s side. “What? It was funny.”

“Look at you choosing someone who has a sense of humor.” Izuna nodded to Kakashi approvingly. “I remember trying to talk with that blue haired girl and she seemed to always be off in her own world. She’s your roommate now, isn’t she? How do you feel about that, Kakashi?”

“Seeing as she was the person who offered the biggest push at getting Obito and I together, I’m completely okay with it.” Kakashi answered then gently tugged at the younger Uchiha’s sleeve. “By the way, Yamato says if you want to stay here again, you’ll have to keep your voice down. Figured you might want to know if you’re letting your uncle have your room.”

“TMI, boys.”

“Shut up, Uncle.” Obito groaned. “But I’ll take you up on that, Kakashi.”

Izuna’s bottom lip puckered out and he leaned forward with an attempt to gain sympathy. “No slumber party?”

Obito shook his head while Kakashi chuckled next to him. “How old are you?”

“I’m mature enough to be a world class sage.”

Not believing it for a second, Obito went back to their earlier conversation. “So, what did you come here for, Uncle?”

“You’re no fun, Obito. But Madara and I decided to come down to visit you for this weekend. Madara refused to see you before Saturday because he’s got work, but I decided to come spend some time with my cute nephew beforehand and get to know Kakashi a bit more. After all, it’s my duty as the brother to your guardian to ensure that you dating someone rational.”

Kakashi noticed Obito going rigid and put a hand on his knee to get his attention. A gesture that used to make him uncomfortable now seemed to lessen some of the tension. “What’s going on this weekend?”

This surprised Izuna and his teasing façade dropped quickly as he passed a look between them. “You haven’t told him? Obito, that’s tomorrow.”

“I know it’s tomorrow.” Obito snapped back then calmed. “Sorry. I always get restless around this time of year and I don’t know why. It’s not like I remember anything anyway.”

His uncle appeared sympathetic which only worried Kakashi all the more. He remembered the way Obito had been acting that night and wondered just how long this had been going on and why he hadn’t heard of it until now. “What am I missing here?”

Obito ran his hands through his hair, contemplating his next words. This wasn’t exactly how he pictured asking Kakashi, and damn his uncle for throwing it at him before he had a chance to do it on his own. “Tomorrow is the anniversary of my parent’s car accident. Normally we hold a memorial service in Chikyū, but seeing as I’m living in Kasai this year my family and I agreed to hold it here…. I was going to ask you if you wanted to go.”

Kakashi didn’t miss the hesitation that came from his partner. The way he avoided eye contact like the offer was hard to make and even the way Izuna wasn’t making any teasing remarks. Kakashi could easily imagine that this was the first time Obito had even bothered to ask anyone to accompany him. He was always a do it yourself kind of guy; he hadn’t asked for anyone’s help when moving to Kasai, confronting Madara, or anything of the related sort. 

This was Obito finally reaching out to someone and Kakashi wasn’t blind enough that he couldn’t see that or dumb enough to ignore it.

“Of course I’ll go.” Like the answer was going to be anything else. Kakashi would have to call off of work, but he was absolutely sure that Hana would understand. Something like this was a reasonable excuse.

The relief that crossed Obito’s features couldn’t have been more noticeable as he turned and smiled at Kakashi. And, like he couldn’t help himself, Izuna popped himself back into their small moment. “Alright, now that we have that settled, let’s eat dinner. What are you making, Obito?”

The way a grin turned into a smirk, Obito had anticipated his uncle forcing him to host. And in an apartment not even his. “I’m thinking knuckle sandwiches along with a can of whoopass side dish.” 

Izuna feigned a hurt look. “But I took such good care of you when you were in Chikyū!”

“As I recall, that was Kakashi. _You_ threw me in a cell.”

“You attacked me!”

“You probably asked for it!”

“You were drunk! What do you know? You’re lucky it was me that showed up and not Madara. You owe me now feed me!” Cue image of baby bird. 

“Feel yourself, you child!” But Obito was laughing.

His uncle fell back against his chair in a childish pout and flailed his arms. “Why do you hate me so? I’m your favorite uncle. Love me.”

Kakashi leaned towards Obito to whisper, “How are he and Madara related?” The two of them couldn’t have been more polar opposites. Where Madara seemed terrifying, Izuna was fun. 

“Madara got all the angry genes and brains while Izuna inherited the leftovers.” Obito whispered back, loudly enough for his uncle to hear.

“You little brat.” Izuna jumped off from his seat and tackled Obito off the couch, attempting to put him in a headlock. “This’ll teach you to disrespect your elders.”

“Bring it on, old man!” 

Kakashi quickly lifted his feet away from their rough housing, amused to watch someone who was on par with Obito on physical skills try and take him down. Plus the way the two of them worked around each other was like they had been through this many times before. It paralleled Obito’s past when he used to do the same with Kakashi. At least back then, Kakashi stood more of a chance. 

He was prepared to jump the back of the couch to avoid them, maybe even go to the kitchen to order some takeout for the three of them, when suddenly a hand went to his legs and hauled him to the floor with them. 

“You get down here and help me!” Obito said, climbing over him and forcing him to be the wall between he and his uncle. 

Izuna laughed in a way that scarily sounded like the way Madara would, darkly and filled with sinister means. Now it was easy to see how they were related. “Oh-ho, teaming up on me, are you?”

“Uh…”

“Get him, Kakashi.” Obito shoved him forward against his will which Izuna took as an attack. He was quick to put Kakashi into a restrained hold when Obito bounced over them for his own attack. 

While they all wrestled with each other, Kakashi failing at it more than the two actually trained, no one noticed a certain man coming through the front door. Yamato simply took one look at them all, groaned quietly to himself, then exited the same way he entered. He needed a new roommate.


	21. Misgivings

“How do you not know how to tie a tie? I thought you’ve gone to tons of parties with Madara.”

Obito rolled his eyes at the memory that brought up. He never really enjoyed himself at those things, they were just a bunch of egotistical cops bragging about their latest promotions or cases. “I do, but everyone always fixes it anyway so I figured if someone has something to say this time, I’ll just blame you.”

Kakashi tugged at the tie warningly. “Be nice or I’ll double knot it.”

And Madara would toss him in this closest river for showing up in anything less than his best. Might even toss Kakashi in for good measure. And Izuna for being there. On second thought, that would provide the perfect excuse to leave early.

It wasn’t like Obito was against visiting his parents, but he didn’t see the point of holding a service for them every year. He didn’t remember them, couldn’t picture their faces unless someone handed him a photograph, and everyone who showed up was so fake. Offering him sympathies or, in Fugaku’s case, glaring at him like he should have died with them. That man definitely didn’t help Obito’s survivor’s guilt in his earlies memories. May as well just blame him for his parents death too. 

“Are you sure you want to go?” Obito asked when Kakashi finished with him so he could move on to his own tie. He had been asking this since his head popped off the pillow. “I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t.”

“I’m going.” Kakashi answered with the same words he had responded with every time he was asked. “If I can handle Madara, I can handle the rest of your family.”

Obito wasn’t sure if being stuck in a prison cell with him counted as handling Madara, but Kakashi just didn’t get it. The Uchiha didn’t approve of his choices in partners unless they were female. They would be pissed to find out he was dating a guy (again) and insulted that Obito would even bring him along. It was like drawing inverted pentagrams all over the most God-fearing church or forcing a strict vegetarian to eat meat. His family might actually try stoning him to death or send him to a correctional facility to cure him of his ‘abnormalities’. Sad things was, he had heard people in his family actually support that idea. 

“They’re going to judge us harshly.” Obito warned, moving to the end of the bed to pull his shoes on. Gah, this suit was already beginning to feel itchy.

“Then don’t tell them we’re dating.” Kakashi straightened his shirt out behind his own blue tie then grabbed Obito’s jacket from where he had hung it on the closet. “As far as they have to know, we’re just friends.”

Obito paused at that idea only to get annoyed. He was no coward and he didn’t give a damn what they thought of him. He had only warned Kakashi so he was prepared for their belittling stares, but never in a million years was he ever going to lie about who he was or who he was dating. “Not going to happen. We’re going to strut in there like we own the place and they’re just going to have to learn to deal with it. I’m not lying to anyone about us.”

He looked up at Kakashi’s grinning face and knew instantly he had walked into his little mind game. “So glad you agree.”

“Social suicide, here we come.”

He allowed Kakashi to drape the jacket onto him then checked on his uncle who was already in the living room. Izuna, ever the morning bird, had been dressed for the past hour and a half and decided to come wake them up out of boredom. Couldn’t let them rest and show up fashionably late, oh no, he had to make sure they got there before anyone else had so they could greet everyone. All because Obito was the child of the people being remembered. He had to make an impression, thank everyone for coming, and be _friendly_. Obito wanted to go hide in a cave and hiss at anyone who dared try to enter. Except Kakashi. Was it too late to call in sick?

Yamato had oozed out of his room as well, dressed in boxer shorts and a plain t-shirt, to zombie around the kitchen in search of caffeine. He took one look at Obito, then Kakashi, then Izuna, and frowned. “Who died?”

Obito raised an eyebrow at the accurateness of that comment. “My parents?”

Yamato sighed loudly that somehow turned into a yawn and slid a freshly made cup of coffee towards him along with some sugar and creamer. Then wordlessly went back to making another cup. 

As Obito accepted it, wondering if Yamato knew that he was serious or if he thought it was a joke, Izuna made noise of complaint. “Where’s mine?”

Yamato had the nerve to pass a glare over his shoulder at the cop before sliding another freshly made cup over on the counter and returning to make yet another. Izuna fought with Obito, and won quickly, to gain access to the sugar then said, “We should probably head out. My brother sent me a message this morning saying he was already on his way there.”

May as well get this all over with. It would take up a good portion of the morning and afterword there would be tons of people quizzing Obito as to why he hasn’t attended more family events. Naturally it was a time to reflect on the good memories everyone had with Obito’s parents, but seeing as he had none… Obito tended to avoid such things. Not like he had to worry about it too much this year. After bringing Kakashi, there was a good chance no one would think to invite him to anything ever again. He would save them all the trouble by bailing early. Izuna and Itachi could come too. Madara… well if he decided to be civil, Obito might consider it. 

Obito led the way out the door, still sipping his coffee, with his uncle not far behind. Kakashi snagged Yamato’s newest coffee cup with a quick thanks and followed behind them. Obito just barely saw Yamato flail his arms in frustration before Kakashi closed the door with a wicked grin. Oh yeah, he was definitely happy in his decision to date this guy and from Izuna snort, so was he. 

Itachi met up with them in the parking deck and they all climbed into his car. Izuna insisted on being allowed to drive but was silenced by a look from the youngest Uchiha. No one touched Itachi’s steering wheel. He had customized the vehicle completely to his liking and was very sensitive about literally anything to do with it: who drove it, where he parked, where he drove with it, going down dirt roads, going on roads with pot holes. Obito was glad to take his truck mudding or having his friends crawling all over it. Itachi would murder them all. Then again, it was what he expected from someone who got their dodge charger painted in such a way that it faded from orange to red depending on how light hit it. 

Uchiha were all rich kids.

The ride there was overall a silent one with exception to Izuna’s cheerful humming as he sipped his coffee. No doubt he was eager to get this over with so he could explore the city afterword; it had always been a favorite thing of his to do when making family visits. Obito remembered him coming back with stories of fight clubs, club parties, and local festivals. Since Madara was generally against Uchiha gatherings of any kind, Obito never had the opportunity to go himself. Thinking back, it was probably a good thing. Early high school Obito would have found a way to mess something up in his teenage angst. 

When they finally arrived, Madara was already inside making sure everything was prepared. He turned towards the door as they all entered, glancing over his family passively until his eyes landed on Kakashi and narrowed slightly. By the time it returned to Obito, it was a full on glare. “Are you trying to make a statement or are you actually that stupid?”

Obito shrugged. “No idea what you’re talking about, Uncle.”

“I’m sure.” The older man grunted. “Come here, brat.” 

Hanging back, Kakashi stuck around Itachi while Obito joined his uncle by a rather nice display of flowers. The entire room was filled with an assortment of them along with different stations set up for the event. A table for food that was simmering under closed trays, a small video screening that was currently flicking through television ads, couches for lounging, and one main room where the entire family would gather for some big speech. Another door was towards the back, most likely having outdoor activities for kids who were to be dragged along with their parents. 

“Want to go watch some old videos?” Itachi offered, gesturing towards the television. “They usually play recordings made by our family. Some are rather interesting.”

“Alright.” 

He followed Itachi over, casting a glance back to where his boyfriend was getting his tie adjusted by his uncle. Kakashi would have chuckled at how Obito had predicted that if he hadn’t sensed the tension between the two of them. They were huddled rather close, seemingly having a conversation they didn’t want others to overhear. Then Madara looked over Obito’s shoulder and barked, “Izuna, get away from there before I slap your hand with a spoon.”

“Yes, Mom.” Izuna’s voice carried away from the buffet set up. 

Amused, Kakashi returned his attention to Itachi as the first video started playing. It was rather old and predated Obito’s birth, showing two young individuals at a football game together. The woman was blushing furiously while the man had his chest puffed out in a proud pose. It seemed whoever had been recording had snuck up on the couple and was giving them a hard time. This must have been Obito’s parents back when they first started dating. 

The next video transitioned into a man’s baseball game and hand showed up at the bottom of the screen, pointing at one of the players in the outfield. This must have been Obito’s mother because as soon as the man made a catch, the screen became incredibly blurry as she bounced up and down. It even started going in circles. 

When the video switched again, more people began entering the building and Obito moved to greet them. The way he held himself was similar to how Madara had when Kakashi first met him: proud, stoic, and quiet. Kakashi moved to join him so that he wasn’t standing awkwardly alone as people took their time to pull up, when Madara got in front of him. 

The man still didn’t think much of Kakashi and it was painfully obvious. Kakashi was beginning he was incapable of smiling unless he was mocking someone. “Try not to say anything unnecessary, Hatake. I’d rather not have everyone jumping down Obito’s throat today.”

It was the nicest thing he had ever heard the man say in terms of his nephew. Despite the tough exterior, maybe Madara really cared. “Don’t worry, I’m a smooth talker.” Kakashi assured him, earning a small laugh of disbelief from Itachi. 

Madara grimaced, “It’s not _you_ I’m worried about.” 

On that note, Kakashi better get towards Obito. At least if he was next to him, he could stop him from causing a scene with certain family members. While Obito had no intention of lying to his family about them being together, Kakashi could think of a million ways to phrase their relationship that wouldn’t have his family tying him to a post and stoning him to death. Regardless of their personal beliefs, they were his family and Kakashi didn’t want to sever any of those bonds. 

Obito had just welcomed an elderly couple in when he caught sight of Kakashi coming towards him. The sudden relaxation of his features spoke volumes of gratitude that he didn’t voice. “You didn’t have to come over here. If you had stayed with Itachi, you would have seen my baby videos next.”

“Because watching people change your diapers is so appealing.” Kakashi retorted.

“Hey now,” Obito warned, “I was an adorable baby. I was God’s gift to this family.”

“Obito!” A young man came running up to them, probably between the ages of Obito and Itachi. “How are you?”

“Wishing to be anywhere else.” Obito answered with a grin. The blunt honesty either meant that Obito liked this person or the guy was so dense that the words would be dismissed as a joke. 

It turned out to be the former as Shisui rolled his eyes. “What? You mean you don’t like being surrounded by family and free food? I can’t imagine how no one else does this every other weekend like the Uchiha’s do. We may as well have our own national holiday as well.”

That’s all the family needed to boost their already inflated heads. If people started celebrating them, the Uchiha might actually start plotting world domination. “Maybe they’ll build a monument for us too.” Obito agreed. “By the way, this is Kakashi. I’m sure you’ve heard about him from Itachi.”

“New boyfriend, yeah.” Shisui nodded, shaking Kakashi’s hand. “I’m Shisui, basically Itachi’s older brother until he went to Chikyū and replaced me with Obito.”

“He knows a better role model when he sees it.” Obito whispered very loudly to the point it was hardly meant to be secretive.

Shisui grunted, holding his chest. “Ow, Tobi, that hurt. Speaking of, where is he?”

Kakashi gestured towards the movie setup where Itachi was speaking with some of the others who had made their way in. “Last I saw, watching Obito being birthed.”

He meant it as a joke, but the two Uchiha before him dropped their jaws in horror. If he didn’t know any better, they were sharing some interesting flashbacks. 

Shisui shuddered. “I thought they promised not to do that ever again.”

“They did.” Obito responded then shoved Shisui away towards the movie set. “Go stop them before someone loses their shit.”

Shisui didn’t hesitate and vanished within the growing crowd. Kakashi felt a little guilty, leaning towards Obito to mutter, “I was just kidding you know.”

“I still wouldn’t put it past some of these people to try anyway.” Obito whispered back before moving on to greet the next group. 

For a while everything was going smoothly. Obito was being polite to his guests, happy to introduce them to Kakashi as ‘an important person from his childhood’. He never outright said the term boyfriend, no doubt on Madara’s orders to be as vague as possible in that regard despite how much it aggravated him to do so, but then it seemed that he didn’t even need to try and irk his family. Some were happy to greet Kakashi as Obito’s supportive friend, relieved to see Obito making friends with successful people for a change. Others simply casted a suspicious look towards him and moved on with no greeting whatsoever. Both responses were like a slap in the face to the both of them. 

Yet no one quite had the response as Itachi’s parents. Mikoto hugged Obito and kissed his cheek, commenting on how gorgeous he looked. Even complimented Kakashi’s suit by saying he looked just like his father on his very best day. Somehow it seemed a little forced, but at least she was making more of an effort that anyone so far. 

Fugaku, however, was the complete opposite. When Sasuke went to run and hug Obito, one of his favorite cousins, Fugaku grabbed his arm and pulled him away. He mumbled something furiously into Mikoto’s ear then brushed, rather roughly, past Obito and towards his eldest son. Sasuke knew better than to argue against his father, but he still waved at Obito as he walked past and promised to find him later. Obito watched them leave, effectively hiding the hurt yet no longer grinning. 

Kakashi patted his shoulder, grateful that they had a moments rest before more people showed. “At least your aunt was pretty nice about it.”

Obito shook his head and turned away from the scene of his cousin’s family. “She doesn’t acknowledge us. She’s nice because she thinks whatever I’m going through is just a phase. As far as she’s concerned, you’re here for emotional support as a friend and nothing more. If I try to tell her otherwise, she won’t listen.” He sighed and toyed with his suit, straightening the already neat folds. “Whatever, at least she can rein in her husband. I just feel bad for Sasuke.”

“If he’s anything like Itachi, he knows a good role model when he sees it.” 

“The poor kid is doomed then.”

Kakashi lightly pushed Obito’s hands out of the way so he stopped shifting his tie to be crooked. It was like the guy was trying to find a reason to annoy others by screwing with their OCD. “Probably true. If he cleans up as nicely as you do, he’ll have all sorts of people hanging all over him. He just needs to start working out now if he’s going to get to your level.”

Obito reached up and lightly tugged on Kakashi’s ear, leaning in. “Stop flirting with me before Madara takes us outside and beats us with a stick.”

“I’d rather it be you beating me with your stick.”

“Oh my god, Kakashi.” He shoved him away, pink beginning to dust his cheeks. “Get away from me before I find a reason for us to leave early.”

Kakashi laughed openly, unable to resist it. He had actually stolen the lines from one of his novels, but since Obito never read them he would never know. Any opportunity to bring a flush to that beautiful face was worth it. There was nothing like having tough guy Obito being flustered. 

He slipped his hands into the pockets of his suit but refused to leave as ordered. “Alright, fine, I’ll be good.”

“Until you find another reason to open that mouth of yours again.” Obito muttered then quickly added, “And that wasn’t an invitation to so be quiet and stand there like a good support pillar.” 

“If you need to visualize me as a giant stuffed teddy bear, Obito…”

The Uchiha popped him in the stomach lightly. “If I wanted Kisame here, I would call him.”

“Kisame?” Kakashi’s shoulders fell. “Should I be upset that you’re willing to snuggle with that freakishly giant man before me?”

“He _does_ have more body mass to hold on to. Tall, dark, and handsome. Remind me why I’m with you again.” Obito teased. 

“I can’t.” he pouted. “I was told to behave myself.”

“Good, do that then. My grandfather is here and I have to go help him.” 

Obito ran forward towards an elderly man who was climbing out of a car, leaning heavily on his cane. The man’s eyes lit up and his face slowly changed to match it as his grandson came into view and he welcomed the arm that Obito offered. The love on his face was overwhelming as he was telling Obito something that he laughed at. Then they climbed the stairs slowly until they got to Kakashi. 

As the old man got within reach, he extended his hand to place it on Kakashi’s cheek, looking upon him with the same adoring face as he had offered Obito. It was like looking into the face of a proud parent after he won a competition. “You did good, son. This one is quite the looker.” 

Now it was Kakashi’s turn to get slightly embarrassed. 

“Thanks, Grandad. His name is Kakashi, just in case you want to address him by his name in the future.”

His grandfather chuckled, turning that sparkling gaze towards him. “Don’t you sass me, boy, you take care of your elders.”

“Yes, sir.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Kakashi offered, feeling like he had just been acknowledged by someone very important in Obito’s life. 

“And you, Mr. Kakashi. My wife would have been so happy to meet you. She always loved hearing about Obito and all his friends. She would have been glad to see the two of you back together again.”

It dawned on Kakashi then which grandfather this was. Obito had always been particularly close to one set of grandparents who had supported him unconditionally. Itachi had mentioned that Obito had a grandmother that had been supporting of his coming out as gay although she had passed away while he was in college, and this must be her husband. No wonder he was looking at the two of them that way. He was a man who knew exactly who Obito was and loved him for it. 

Obito shared a shocked look with his boyfriend before regarding his grandfather in a new light. “You guys knew about us?” He, like Kakashi, had been under the impression that no one knew they had dated when they were kids save for Sakumo. They had decided to keep it a secret from everyone else. 

His grandfather patted his arm. “You were never that good at hiding your emotions, son. You had that same look in your eyes that I do when I looked at your grandmother. We just didn’t say anything until you were ready to.”

Kakashi decided two things in that moment: one, that this man was a saint and two, that he just ranked high on his most respected people. 

“Let’s get you inside so you can rub off on some of the others.” Obito said warmly, feeling like a child whose parents had just told the world how proud they were of him. Moments like this were so rare for him: to find out that he had at least one person in his family that had always known and were kind to both of them without the light teasing that followed. Pure love that only a parent or grandparent could provide. 

Kakashi waited for Obito to drop his grandfather off near some other family members, seating him close to the front of the center room. He even fetched the man something to drink and snacks before anyone could so much as offer before making his way back towards Kakashi with snacks of their own. Cubed cheese, crackers, some veggies and dip. They set it on a nearby bench so that when more arrivals came their hands were free and host mode was activated. 

When the last car had parked and the family welcomed inside, Obito led the way through the crowd towards the center room where most of the people had gathered already. Madara had saved two seats for them in the front, much to Obito’s discomfort, and waited until they were sitting before calling the rest of the family in. As he began the speech, Obito crossed his arms and leaned his shoulder against Kakashi’s, doing his best to appear like he was listening. Kakashi had no idea why he was so tense until Madara announced that if anyone had a story they wanted to share about the memories of Obito’s parents, they were welcome to come up and speak. 

Naturally Obito, who had no memories to recall, would feel like he shouldn’t go up there. 

The first to take Madara up on the offer were a few cousins, telling stories of high school years. The time they first met the couple or famous sports moments. Previous family gatherings where the two of them won certain activities. One woman in particular went on and on about how Obito’s mother could cook the best pecan pie the world had ever tasted. She even asked Obito if he had any idea where his mother’s cookbook was, to which Obito held his hands up uselessly. For all he knew, it was thrown out or sold years ago. 

It was all going smoothly for a while. Obito became more comfortable as it became obvious that he wasn’t going to go up and he began whispering to Kakashi between stories. He would elaborate on the personalities on those speaking or things he had heard about them. A second cousin who started a food fight because another family member had insulted his wife’s potato salad. An uncle who managed to get out of a speeding ticket because he had the cop laughing so hard (a cop outside the Uchiha family because they took their jobs too seriously to ever pass up a ticket). 

Even Itachi went up to speak, telling the story of the first time he went to Obito’s house when he was young. He had been so bored that he began flicking his fork around in his hand just to be doing something. Unfortunately, it had flown from his hand and landed in his aunt’s food, sending it everywhere. Obito had been the first to break the silence and congratulate Itachi for his amazing shot before trying to mimic it, earning a swift scolding from his parents. Although not a memory that Obito had anymore, he found it just as amusing as he did that night. 

Then Fugaku stood as his son returned to his seat, going to the front and looking around as if analyzing the crowd before he spoke. “Masumi and Wataru Uchiha with both exceptionally intelligent and kind people. Throughout the entire time I knew them, they never faltered on their beliefs and standards on what it was to be the best they could be. They would watch my children so that Mikoto and I could have time to ourselves when work became overwhelming. I once saw Masumi set up a charity project after learning that there was a homeless man in our city. Within a month she had helped that man save up enough to get some nice clothing to go to job interviews.”

People around murmured how kind Obito’s mother had been, agreed and whispering about other things that she must have done when she was still alive.

Fugaku continued, “And Watari never let anyone get the better of him. If something were to insult his family, he would fight back against it with his entire being.” Kakashi didn’t miss how his eyes trailed to where he and Obito sat. “And he knew the value of living an honest and moral life. I know they did their best to pass on their wills to their son, and I expect he’ll be making life choices accordingly despite any past mistakes.”

The room went quiet and there was no mistake as to what he was implying. Everyone knew, and eyes were drawn uncomfortably to he and Obito. Some were completely judgmental, others confused, others guarded. No wonder Obito had warned him before they came. It was like a room of hyenas staring at a rabbit and Fugaku was the ring leader.

All except Madara who bristled a few seats down like it was he who had just been personally insulted. He stood up and didn’t bother going to the front of the room before saying, “If you are quite finished and no one has anything else to share-.”

“I do.”

All eyes flew to Kakashi who had his same relaxed posture as he rose to his feet. He offered a reassuring smile to his boyfriend then moved to take the place of Fugaku, not letting the glare it earned intimidate him. Now that he was before everyone, he expected a sort of panic or stage fright. Even during the Future Scholars Competition, he felt a sense of urgency. Yet right now, all he felt was an eerie calm. Everyone had their attention trained in on him. Itachi had a slightly knowing smirk on his face as he nodded his approval. Sasuke was straining upwards to see him past the adults in the way. Madara had his arms crossed and narrowed eyes as though trying to remind Kakashi of his earlier words. 

And Obito… he was slightly leaned forward with a concerned look. Like he wasn’t sure what Kakashi was about to say or what this might mean. Or like he was prepping to jump to Kakashi’s defense should someone object. He wasn’t used to people standing up for him, and Kakashi knew that a lot of times Obito wouldn’t stand for it because he was capable of handling himself, but there was no way Kakashi could let that slide. Not from Obito’s family, the people who were supposed to have his back when no one else did. 

“Before Obito moved to Chikyū, he and I used to hang out quite often. Between school or free time on the weekends, we were practically glued to each other. With our friend Rin, we gave a lot of adults in our neighborhood grey hair with all the mischief we got into.” Kakashi began, thinking of all the times they had been together. Between his, Obito’s and Rin’s house or the park, they were inseparable. “I met his parents a lot during these times. At any sleepover or hangout, they always made sure that we were well fed and staying safe. Or at the very least providing a band aid when we fell off a swing set for the fifth time in one day. And I can confirm that his mother’s pecan pie was rather amazing.”

“I told you!” the woman from before yelled in the back. Amused chuckles spread through the crowd and still no one made any move to stop Kakashi. 

He continued, “They were really sweet people and I often considered them a set of second parents. In an age where parents are more commonly splitting up than staying together, just like in my case, I often looked to them as the ideal parents. The love they had for each other and for Obito was incredibly amazing, and while my father loves me unconditionally, theirs was something completely unique.”

His gaze fell to Obito whose eyes widened in response. “Everyone loves differently, and to think that any two people are the same is ridiculous. I’m sure that if they were still alive today, they would be incredibly proud of their son and his choices. They raised him to be one of the most polite and caring people I’ve ever met, and I’m sure nothing could come between the love they had for him.”

“Well said, son!” Obito’s grandfather spoke up, raising his cane in approval. “Couldn’t have phrased it better myself.”

Taking that to be the end of his speech, Kakashi nodded respectfully towards the elder man and made his way back to Obito. Hopefully he hadn’t overstepped his bounds too much and Obito wasn’t going to chew him out.

But the reaction couldn’t have been more opposite. As soon as Kakashi was within range, Obito got to his feet and pulled him into a hug. In front of everyone. In front of everyone who just a few seconds earlier had looked at him scornfully as if he was a dysfunctional kid. Both arms around his neck and body flushed against his, holding him as if he was more precious than anything else in the room. 

“Thank you.” Obito whispered in his ear before pulling away. He was practically glowing at the praise Kakashi had given him and that alone was worth everything. 

Madara stood up again then but even his attitude had less scorn to it. “Assuming no one else has anything to say, the buffet is ready to be opened. Anyone who doesn’t have any future engagements is more than welcome to stay.”

As far as Kakashi was concerned, he was okay doing whatever Obito wanted to do today. If he wanted to bail and go throw eggs at Fugaku’s house, he would buy every egg in any nearby department store. 

People around them stood up to meander into their seemingly normal groups. Most everyone stayed, but some people who had agreed most with Fugaku left with disgusted looks on their faces. As for the rest, it was mixture of people brushing off the entire unspoken fight that had just happened or finding amusement in it. Apparently talking back to Obito’s uncle wasn’t quite the norm around here. 

Itachi broke from his parents, talking closely together, keeping Sasuke close behind him so he wouldn’t be pulled away again. “Sleep with one eye open you guys.” He warned as Sasuke released his older brother to hug Obito’s waist. “I’m pretty sure my father might be planning to find a reason to arrest you permanently or something.”

“I’d like to see him find something that Madara couldn’t.” Obito laughed, ruffling Sasuke’s raven hair. 

“Don’t think I don’t have plenty of dirt on you, brat.”

Obito jumped before turning to see Madara walking up behind him to which Sasuke chuckled at. “Like what?”

Madara ignored him and turned his words towards Kakashi. “Now that I’ve determined that the two of you are equally as idiotic, do you feel better knowing you’ve kicked the hornets’ nest? Or was this your pathetic attempt at being noble?”

“I think he was trying to be flattering, Uncle.” Itachi answered for them. “Even father was commenting on their behavior at the door earlier.”

Obito groaned and looked down at Sasuke. “You see how easily your big brother sells me out?”

“You sort of do it to yourself, Obito.” Sasuke shrugged.

“Shut up, kid.”

“Regardless,” Madara grabbed their attention again, “I’d advise staying away from Fugaku, but knowing you two you’ll find a way to piss him off again. So instead, do me the favor of not giving him a reason to toss you in a cell and making me come get you.”

“I’ll keep them out of trouble.” Itachi promised. “Me and Sasuke that is.”

“Let’s go play cornhole! Father can’t be mad if we’re on opposite teams! Plus, I need to get revenge against Obito for our last bowling match.” Sasuke decided, grabbing Obito’s arm and hauling him towards the backdoor of the building were some games had been set up. Obito sent Kakashi a mental cry for help as he was led away with Itachi in tow. Kakashi made to follow when Madara said his name again to stop him.

“What you did for Obito…you have my respect for that. I know his friends are loyal to him, but I’ve never seen any of them do what you just did.”

Kakashi was temporarily stunned, knowing that Madara didn’t say such things lightly. It was so close to a compliment. “Careful, sir. I might think you’re beginning to like me.”

Madara scowled at him. “You are too much like your father, brat.”

“I’ll consider it a compliment.”

“It wasn’t meant to be one. That man brings a whole new definition to the word irritating. Now go join the rest of them while I find a way to clean the mess you made.”

The man was ever a permanent depressant, but Kakashi did as he was told and went to join the others. They had already split into two teams, brothers on one end and boyfriends on the other. Some rounds went fast and others carried on with how often they kept evening out the scores. As it turned out, Sasuke was rather skilled at the game of throwing small bags into the hole. Itachi was decent as well and Obito was terrible. Kakashi was carrying the team and constantly picking on his boyfriend when the bag went way past its goal or just fell short.

Then they switched partners with Kakashi and Sasuke on one team, Itachi and Obito on the other. Somehow with this setup, Itachi was able to knock Kakashi’s bags in, messing them both up. Obito was simply grateful that someone other than him was causing them to lose, making him and Itachi argue over who was worse. It came down to Obito being right because he was the eldest despite the fact that Itachi’s argument was better. 

When Obito realized he wasn’t getting any closer to winning by pestering his teammate, he turned to messing with Sasuke next to him. Right as Sasuke would be about to release the bag, Obito would poke his side causing him to jump in response. One bag in particular nearly smacked his brother in the face that Obito was ready to call it ‘two birds with one bag’. Sasuke argued loudly that it was against the rules and began tossing the bags at Obito who laughed at how weak the tosses were. Until one smacked him on the nose. So Obito lifted his little opponent and begun spinning him around in tight circles intending to make him too dizzy to throw anything properly.

It didn’t work. Not how he wanted to. By the time he released Sasuke, he was dizzy too and they spent the next few minutes trying to get steady on their feet again while the other two laughed at them. 

“Sasuke, we’re leaving.” A voice snapped at them from the doorway. 

At the unfriendly tone, Sasuke sobered instantly. “I got to go.”

Obito felt a wave of sympathy for the kid. The way he reacted to his dad just wasn’t normal. No one should fear their fathers voice especially when the anger in it wasn’t even their fault. “I’ll see you later, kid. Say hi to your friends for me.”

The thought of his friends cheered him instantly and he ran past his father towards where their mother was waiting by the front of the building. Itachi frowned at his father’s tone and said something to Kakashi before heading towards his father. 

“Not now, Itachi.” Fugaku snapped at his eldest next. “Go see your mother before we leave.”

“Father-.”

“ _Go_ , Itachi.”

Obito moved closer to Kakashi as if to put himself between his pissed off uncle and the person he cared about. Itachi hesitated a long moment, wanting to say something further, but ended up doing as his father said. Obito could hardly blame him. Itachi hardly saw his parents despite living in the same city so of course he would want to see his mother before he left. But the fact that Fugaku was staying behind meant that he wasn’t done with them. 

Kakashi tried to move to stand next to Obito, but Obito pushed him back behind. He kept his eyes trained on his uncle the entire time Fugaku closed the space between them. The sparks between them were nearly visible and the tension was so thick it was a wonder they weren’t choking on it. Kind of like when you get two people from different football teams in the same room during hate week.

Finally, Fugaku stopped before them, his narrowed eyes furious and nose flaring as if he was holding himself back from taking a swing. One that Obito was wholly prepared to return should the need call for it. “From this point, you are no longer welcome in my home or on my property. If you ever come by again, I will consider it trespassing and have you arrested. Furthermore, while I cannot stop you from seeing Itachi, I will not allow you to spread your influence over my youngest son. If I catch you anywhere near Sasuke, you will be dealt with as a threat and dealt with accordingly.”

“You’re kidding.” Obito gasped, not even fathoming the words correctly. The sturdiness temporarily taken from his stance at what he was being forbidden from. 

“I am not. You’ve done enough damage to your own family, and I will not have you harming mine. You are a problem. A messed-up child who brings ruin where ever you decide to spread your illness. So I will warn you this once, and _just this once_ , to stay away from my family.”

“What have I ever done?” Obito asked, actually shaking in a mixture of fear and anger. He had never once done anything to harm his family. Even Madara who pissed him off beyond being able to think properly. He would do anything for them. And to be separated from Sasuke was so unfair because after all this time Obito had finally gotten close to some family members again.

Fugaku grabbed Obito’s shirt and pulled him forward. Kakashi tried to get between them to pry them away since Obito wasn’t even trying to escape. Just stared into the face that held more hatred than anything he had seen before. “ _You_ are the reason your parents are in the ground. _You_ put them there. You’re a menace and not worth the air it takes to keep you alive. It should have been you, not my beloved brother and his wife, that died. The world would be better off without people like you and that _disgusting_ trash behind you.”

Obito wasn’t sure who it was that saw red first, but the next second they were on each other trying to beat the other into a bloody pulp. He could hear Kakashi yelling and someone pulling at his shirt, but he didn’t care. Fugaku was merciless and fully trained to kick someone’s ass. Every blow may as well have been delivered by a baseball bat, but Obito returned it with everything he could. 

How could he say that? He was a hateful person who had always looked for a reason to throw Obito under the bus and he was sick of it. Sick of the chill looks he was always given. Tired of being treated like he had some mental disorder when there was nothing wrong with him. Everyone that judged him could just go to hell starting with the beast of a man before him. 

Rough hands lifted him from the air then and tossed him back, away from Fugaku. When he went to lunge back in, Kakashi wrapped his arms around his waist and pushed him back against the side of the building. Fugaku was being detained by Itachi who looked shocked over the whole ordeal, trying desperately to talk sense into his father who was still yelling insults. The only thing Obito could hear was the blood pounding on his ears. 

Madara was between them furious, glaring between the two of them. He told something to Itachi who nodded then made his way towards Obito. Without a word, he pushed Kakashi out of the way, grabbed Obito, and began hauling him around the building towards the parking lot. Obito struggled to get out of his grip only for Kakashi to help him Madara take him away from the scene. He was actually helping Madara instead of him!

“Let go!” Obito demanded, firmly planting his feet that only succeeded in dirtying his shoes. 

Madara threw him against the car and slapped him. Hard. Obito could feel his lip split against his teeth and paused. Madara had gotten into fights with him before, but they had been pretty on par with sparring. Obito couldn’t even remember the last time his uncle hit him hard enough to bleed.

“Get ahold of yourself.” Madara growled, ignoring Kakashi who was scolding him for hitting Obito. 

Obito glared back at him, wanting to return the favor. “You didn’t hear what he said.”

“I did not raise you to throw your fist at everything that angered you, child. Use your damn head and think for a moment. You’ve come too far to relapse into the person you were when you first came to me. Now sit down and wait for Itachi to get here. You’ve caused enough trouble today.”

“Uncle-.”

“ _Sit. Down_.” Madara said so darkly that Obito actually listened. Grudgingly, but still obeyed. Madara sighed, rubbing his temples like he had a headache growing there. “You are such a brat. Did you ever once consider that he was baiting you? Looking for a reason to get you to attack him? With this, he can register you as a violent person and find a way to keep you away. You _know_ he doesn’t like you, and I told you not to start anything, didn’t I? It’s just like you to not listen. So, once again, I’m forced to step in. Do yourself a favor and don’t come back here today. Go home and throw your head under a faucet to cool down or whatever it is you do.”

He left then, going back to deal with Fugaku or the crowd of people wondering what just happened. Obito didn’t know. But Kakashi quickly took his place, bending down and putting his hand under Obito’s chin, lifting it up with a grimace. “That looks bad.”

Obito sighed, pulling Kakashi’s hand away and bowing his head. “I’m sorry. I messed up again.”

Kakashi’s hand tightened around his. “It could be worse.”

“How?”

“You could look like the asshole that you just beat the shit out of. He’s definitely going to have a black eye.”

Obito laughed, not even sure if that really was a good thing or not. He couldn’t even remember where he was able to hit Fugaku, but he hoped where ever it was that it hurt for the next week. And Itachi…he had hit Itachi’s dad. Obito groaned into his hands at how stupid he was. “I might need a therapist.”

Kakashi played with his dark hair, humming softly. “Nah, there’s nothing wrong with you.”

Obito begged to differ. “Madara’s right, once again. I don’t think before I act. Attacking Fugaku was a mistake.”

“Well, if you didn’t do it, I was going to.”

Obito lifted his head to Kakashi’s smiling face, not sure his ears were quite done being deaf. Did he actually hear Kakashi was going to attack someone? His uncle? “You were?”

“Absolutely. No one talks to my boyfriend like that. I would have let you keep going, but as I said,” he lifted his hand again to Obito’s face, lightly touching near the injury that was very close to Obito’s eye. He hadn’t realized it was there until there was a sting from the pressure. “This looks bad.”

Obito was about to make a reference towards having a battle scar when fast footsteps came towards them. They both turned to see Itachi jogging up only to scowl at Obito. “You look like shit. Get in the car and try not to bleed on it.”

“Itachi, I’m-.”

“Save it, Tobi, I’m not mad. Just get in the car please.”

He exchanged a look with Kakashi before doing as he was told. He crawled into the back seat, allowing Kakashi to take the front. Itachi tossed some napkins he had taken from one of the tables back to him then put his sports car to good use getting onto the road. 

“You’re not mad?” Obito asked, wincing as he put the napkins to his face. He would have thought Itachi would be furious at him. Fugaku wasn’t the greatest guy in the world, but he was still Itachi’s father. 

But Itachi actually laughed as his eyes found Obito’s in the review mirror. “Are you kidding? My father had that coming for a long time. Did you see how scared Sasuke was to disobey him? Didn’t even say goodbye, did he? I’m not saying what you did was right, but I’m sorry it was you that did it.”

“Where are we headed?” Kakashi asked.

“Hospital. I want Obito to get that looked at.”

“Guys, I’m not blind.” Obito protested.

Kakashi glanced back at him with a dull look. “In the words my boyfriend once told me: shut up.”

Obito sulked into his seat, really not wanting to go to the hospital over something as minor as this. These two forgot that he had taken MMA and was used to injuries much worse than this. A cut on his face was like scraping his knee after falling. It would stop bleeding eventually. 

He folded the napkin and reapplied it, listening to their conversation. Apparently Itachi had an idea that something was up when he realized his father hadn’t followed him. His mother had no idea where he had gone and was looking for him. Itachi ran back to retrieve his father only to see him, not Obito, throw the first punch. Obito had been acting in self-defense after all, despite wanting to beat Fugaku up just as much as Fugaku wanted to harm him. 

Itachi had called Madara before sprinting to the door, reaching to get his father off Obito. Madara had come quickly, tossing Obito aside like he was nothing, then shoved Fugaku away before he could chase after them. The words Obito couldn’t hear was Madara threatening to have Fugaku on temporarily suspended for this. Without knowing what had happened, he had instantly taken Obito’s side. 

Before he could really let that soak in, Itachi had pulled into the hospital and allowed Kakashi to lead Obito inside so he could go find parking. They had hardly made it through the front doors before Rin jumped to her feet looking horrorstruck. Damn, she was working the front today?

“What happened?” she demanded, running forward to look at Obito.

“Oh, you know, got in another fight.” Obito answered lightly. 

She wasn’t amused at all. “Come on.” She pulled them into a free clinic room and began doing basic first aid, cleaning the wound. “I swear, Obito, I will wrap you in bubble wrap if you keep this up. Now seriously. Words. Explanation. Now.”

Obito shrunk beneath her scolding and Kakashi took over, quickly explaining what had happened. Rin listened as she checked the injury, putting some gauze over it before demanding he remove his jacket and shirt. There were already some bruises forming that he could feel, some ribs were sore, but nothing was broken or cracked. The worst of everything was the deep cut beneath his eye from where his skin was pulled on a punch and the split lip. Everything else would be fixed with time and a certain amount of Advil. 

When she finished with the bandages, she sat back with a furious look. “That man is a literal monster. How could he say such things to you?”

“My dad?” Itachi asked, finding the room at last. “Well, he’s never been one to hold back what’s on his mind.”

“It’s still terrible.” She pounded her fist into her hand which looked more adorable on her than threatening. Kind of like a child pretending to be a boxer. “I should give that man a piece of my mind.”

“Obito already beat you to that.” Kakashi pointed out. 

Itachi found a place to lean against one of the counters, trying to not stand in the middle of the already too small room. “I don’t understand why he thinks you caused your parents deaths anyway. You were, what, eleven? Twelve?”

“Somewhere around there,” Obito confirmed. “And me either, but I can’t remember anything predating the accident anyway so I guess it doesn’t matter, does it?”

“Actually…” Rin started, suddenly very nervous. She looked around at all of them before shutting the door to the room. “You guys can’t tell anyone that I did this, okay? I could get into a lot of trouble.”

“Did you poison a patient?” Kakashi asked.

Obito paled. “Please tell me it was me.”

Rin huffed at them and crossed her arms. “No, I didn’t poison anyone but it does have to do with Obito.”

Itachi placed his hand on his cousin’s shoulder, shaking his head sadly. “I’m sorry, Obito. It was nice knowing you.”

“Guess I’ll have to find a new boyfriend.” Kakashi sighed dramatically. “And I was just getting used to you too.”

Obito actually whimpered at that thought. 

“Stop, this is serious!” Rin stomped her foot at them which only made them want to continue. “I went into Obito’s medical files!”

That made them stop. No wonder she had said it was serious. Not only was looking into someone’s medical file without permission considerably rude, it was also unlawful and could cause Rin her job among many other things. 

And it rather annoyed Obito. There were plenty of things in his medical history he didn’t want out. The anger management, the self-inflicted damage, the amount of times he was in and out of the hospital because of fights. Some things didn’t change, but that still didn’t make it acceptable for Rin to do this without his permission. 

Yet it was Kakashi that said something before he could. “Rin, you had no right to do that. What were you thinking?”

“I know, and I’m sorry, but some things just didn’t add up. The only way you would have really lost memories, aside from repressing them, would be if you had a head injury. You guys mentioned that Madara was always dodging your questions, and I couldn’t see why he would do that without having something to hide.”

“What did you find?” Obito decided to hear this out regardless on her invasion of his privacy. Rin was a good friend to him, so whatever she found of his time in Chikyū she would keep a secret. 

“Well, at first it was just car wreck injuries. Fractured collar bone, a broken arm, an abundance of bruises and cuts and removal of glass. You did have a bump on your head, but it was a minor concussion. Not near enough for memory loss. And then…” She somehow became more nervous as if that list of injuries wasn’t enough. “There were reports of self-harm. And not like you tripped down the stairs or something. Obito, I think you were suicidal.”

His jaw dropped at how wild that seemed to be. Never once in his life did he ever consider that a possibility and even now it seemed extremely unlikely. “Excuse me? I’m perfectly sane in that department, thanks. I like living.”

She made a helpless arm gesture. “I can only tell you what was written.”

“What did I do? Or did I ever say why I did it? I can’t imagine what would push me that far.” He was an angry little kid to be sure, but he had never entertained the possibility of death before. This brought forth many questions in his head. Was the scene so horrific that he couldn’t handle it? Was it guilt for surviving while his parents died? Or were all of these things fabricated or misunderstood by his doctors. He was really hoping for the latter.

“There was never a reason listed on record, but you did a lot of things. Swallowed pills, constantly pulling needles roughly out of your arm, you were caught with a scalpel before you were able to do anything, and at one point you were up on the roof of the building. You did all of this within a short amount of time. All within a week I think, if they listed the dates correctly. At some point you were put under watch until you were subject to ECT or Electroshock Therapy. According to your records, Madara pushed strongly for this since it’s only used in rare cases of extreme depression.”

“Rin, you knew Obito just as much as I did. All of that sounds extremely unlikely. He would have called one of us after the accident.” Kakashi argued. 

She nodded. “I agree, which makes me wonder if that wasn’t all fabricated and the use of ECT was forced. Maybe that’s why Madara is so against talking about it. One of the side effects of the treatment is memory loss, and in some cases it becomes permanent. I think Obito is one of the extreme cases.”

“Obito?” Itachi asked, “What do you think?”

Obito thought a lot of things but none of them really made sense. There was no reason for Madara to do that. He had been a bully as Obito grew up, but never cruel. “What if I did kill my parents?” he asked to none of them in particular as he recalled his uncle’s fury. “What if Fugaku was right and I just couldn’t live with that?”

“No.” Kakashi put his hands on both sides of Obito’s face, bringing it up to him. “There is no way that happened. You didn’t kill your parents and you absolutely weren’t suicidal. Don’t even begin thinking like that or the next time you get beat up it will be by me.”

“So violent.” Obito chuckled, grabbing Kakashi’s tie and pulling him down to place a quick kiss on his cheek only to wince. He totally forgot he busted his lip. Ow. Releasing his boyfriend, he asked Rin, “Is there any way I get a copy of those medical records from you? If I’m going to speak to Madara about this, I need to come at him with facts. No more of this wildly charging in with fists a blazing.”

“How very un-Obito of you. Did my father break something in your head that put some sense into it?” Itachi teased. Obito very happily flipped him off. 

Rin ran the process through her mind. “You have to send in a request, but that’s a lot of paperwork. I’ll print the records out for you now and fill in the paperwork for it later. I’ll call you if I have any questions on how to answer some of the form. Do you want to have a prescription for any pain? I can talk with one of the doctors here.”

Obito declined the offer with a small shake of his head. Before she took her leave he quickly answered, “Rin, thanks for looking into all this for me.”

She smiled then crossed the space to pull him into a hug as gently as she could. “No more fights, okay?”

“Only if you promise to never go through my records again.”

“I’ll try.” She promised then left them alone so he could pull his clothes back on again. 

Today had certainly been an eventful day. Woke up intending to go to a simple service to remember his dead family only to end up in a hospital learning he was subject to some sort of major therapy that cost him his memories. He couldn’t wait to see what was next after this. Maybe he’d learn that his parents were millionaires and he was going to have a lot more inheritance coming his way than he thought. Or, more likely, that aliens existed. 

Still, what Rin had said didn’t make sense. No matter what, he just couldn’t see himself being so depressed that he would try and take his own life. Back then he had so much to live for. He had Kakashi, he had Rin, his grandparents that loved to dote on him, Itachi and Sasuke. There was something wrong here, something that Madara wasn’t telling him and for all Obito could imagine, he couldn’t figure out what it could possibly be. Kakashi had mentioned that he would have tried to contact them once he woke up in the hospital and judging from how much he seemed to adore his boyfriend at a young age, Obito agreed. So why hadn’t he done it? What had stopped him?

As he buttoned the last of his shirt, he grabbed his jacket and addressed his present company, “So, boys, what’s for lunch?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are awesome for dealing with my irregular posting schedule! I've got another one or two chapters planned before I move on to my next project, so thanks for following everything so far :) As always, thanks for the support and feel free to leave a review!


	22. What's this?

“For a man who’s the point of contact for many individuals, my uncle is the worst person when it comes to answering his damn phone.” Obito grumbled, tossing his cell onto the couch before flopping down angrily next to it. 

He had tried to give his uncle time to sort out the family dispute earlier, but surely it wasn’t going to take that long. Already it was past lunch time and he hadn’t heard a word from anyone about anything. Itachi had left to go talk to Sasuke, likely to inform him of the recent goings-on before their father could screw everything up, and Kakashi insisted on hiding out in Nagato’s apartment just in case Izuna came looking for them. 

Kakashi draped himself over the back of the couch just to the left of the disgruntled Uchiha, fluffing his hair lightly in a pitiful attempt to raise to the mood. “Any other day you would be glad for his negligence.” At the frown he received, he quickly added, “I know you’re feeling the need to get answers as soon as you can, but maybe this is a good thing. If you come at him with riled nerves, he’s going to eat you alive. Need I remind you what happened the last time?”

That seemed to work. Obito took a calming breath and let his head fall back against the cushion. “I know.”

“And I seriously doubt he can stop you from seeing your little cousin. Your aunt seemed like a good person and she’ll talk some sense into her husband.”

“Maybe.” Came a small grumble. 

It was a serious situation they had landed themselves in and Kakashi could hardly fault him for being in the dumps. Sometimes there weren’t words that could lift a person’s spirits and there was little he could do aside from listen and offer small reassurances. 

But at the same time, Kakashi wasn’t willing to just sit there and allow his boyfriend to be all depressed and mopey. It was boring and not good for anyone, especially someone who could be as sensitive as Obito. He may have done some growing up while living in Chikyū, but Obito still had the emotional range of a squirrel. 

“That’s it.” Kakashi decided, moving away to retrieve his keys from the counter. “We’re getting out of here.”

Obito looked at him from the couch, completely unwilling to get up. It was as if he was slowly becoming one with the piece of furniture. “We just got here.”

“And now we’re just leaving. Get up before I drag you.”

“Where are we going?”

“Out.” He slipped his jacket onto his shoulders then pat his legs like he was calling a pet. “Come on, Obito. Come on. You can do it. Let’s go.”

Trying his best to hide his amusement, Obito obeyed. Only when he got close did he slap Kakashi’s arm and mutter, “I’m not a dog.”

Nagato chose this moment to leave his room holding a board game. Clearly he had been anticipating some hangout time and was devastated to find it cut short so abruptly. One look at the two of them halfway to the door was enough to bring a slump into his shoulders. “You’re leaving?”

Like the best person in the world, Obito quickly threw his boyfriend under the bus by pointing and stating, “He’s making me leave.”

“But you just got here.” Nagato echoed his earlier words. “Where are you going now?”

Both men turned to Kakashi with questioning eyes that would have been hilarious had Kakashi not been trying to keep it a secret. What better way to cheer someone up than with a pleasant surprise? But not with the way these two were acting like he was about to take them on a trip to Boringsville. May as well have been telling a child that their parent was leaving them forever. No wonder these two were best friends. 

“To a place.” Kakashi answer vaguely. He wanted to only take Obito and there was really no way to say that without Nagato having his soul crushed. Even now he was deflating even more before him and causing all sort of guilty feelings to stir. Especially since Kakashi was the one that had insisted on coming here. 

And if these two didn’t stop looking at him like he was committing the world’s worst crime, he was going to throw one of them out the window. 

“Look, I was going to…” He glanced between the two of them. “I sort of planned…uh…” Obito and Nagato actually moved to stand shoulder to shoulder, waiting to hear his plans. “Guys, come on. I…” Oh no, now they were crossing their arms at him. 

Well, guess that settled things. “You know what, fine. Come on, Nagato, you’re coming too.” 

On cue the two of them knocked their fists together and followed behind the slightly agitated Kakashi. The only outward sign he gave of resignation was a quiet sigh but managed to keep the rest of himself in check. Otherwise they might try to exploit his weakness to Obito’s pitiful and altogether adorable puppy dog look. 

They headed together to Kakashi’s car, naturally with Obito jumping into the passenger seat, and waited until they were outside of the parking lot before bombarding him with questions. Where were they going? Why was it secret? Did their destination include food? For having such an exciting morning, Kakashi thought that would have been the topic of their conversation. Not badgering him with questions that would be answered in literal minutes.

It wasn’t even that big of a secret where he was going. In fact, it wasn’t even a big deal. At least not to him. Kakashi had been trying to think of ways to cheer Obito up and this just happened to be the first thing that came to mind. It succeeded to so many times as children and he could only assume that the effect would carry into the adult version. 

The drive itself didn’t take too long - thank God because if it did he was going to toss the two of them out of his car and go grab some lunch alone - and soon they were pulling into a familiar neighborhood. Well, not familiar for two of them but exceptionally well-known for Kakashi. As expected, no one was in the driveway and wouldn’t be for quite some time. His father was still at work after all. 

“Who lives here?” Nagato asked, leaning between the two front seats to get a better look at the house. It was two stories with a pampered yard and plenty of lawn that separated it from neighbors. 

Kakashi put the car in park before enlightening them, “My dad until he decides to get another wife. But seeing as he hasn’t had a girlfriend in years, I doubt the number of occupants will change.”

“Think he’ll mind if we raid his fridge?” Obito’s stomach seemed to have taken control of his mind. No, don’t bother asking what they’re doing at a detective’s house or specifically Kakashi’s father’s house. Oh no, let’s ask to raid his fridge. What did they think his father would have in his fridge anyway? Gourmet meals? They were lucky if they could find an instant noodle pack sometimes. 

Still, it wasn’t like Kakashi minded. It wasn’t his food anyway and his father should be glad to have visitors after such a long time. But he figured the both of them would forget about food really soon. 

Without bothering to answer, he flipped through his keys to find the appropriate one to unlock the door. Yet instead of opening it, he stepped back. “After you.” He said directly to Obito. 

His boyfriend quirked an eyebrow up. “Why me?”

“Because you used to come over here all the time and you never cared for knocking during any of those visits. Maybe this might bring something back for you.”

From the look on his face, Obito was skeptical about that. If nothing else had brought any memory back, he didn’t think anything would. He was beginning to think that maybe the only thing that would work was a traumatic shock. Though that was unlikely to happen any time soon and Obito could easily defend himself against any attack. 

That was a thought instantly proved wrong the very second he opened the door and took a few steps inside. At first it appeared a normal house. A few picture frames here, a few piles of household junk there, and then a massive blur a fur that crashed into him like a wave. Literally. He squealed with all the masculinity a man of his stature possessed before being tossed to the ground like an overgrown chew toy. 

Nagato didn’t bother holding back his laughter but only once he was behind the safety wall made of Kakashi’s body. 

“Kakashi!” Obito called out as one particularly bear-like dog put a paw on his chest to keep him pinned while two others attacked his face. “Get them off!”

That was one request that Kakashi had no intention of heeding. It was much too interesting to watch Obito wiggle beneath them. After everything he had gone through with the sparring match they shared, Obito deserved to get his butt kicked. And what better way than under a mass of drool and dog breath? He managed to flip to his hands and knees yet right as he got balanced, Bisuke and Urushi launched into his chest. All that could really be seen was Obito’s arms flailing in attempt to break free of the masses.

The best thing about this was that even after all of this time, all of his dogs remembered him. Obvious by the way their tails could cause a whirlwind and their inability to let Obito breath before shoving their tongues on every inch of him. And when Bull crushed the poor guy under all of his weigh, successfully pinning him to the ground, Kakashi couldn’t help but join in Nagato’s laughter. 

Still, he was going to have to save Obito from being crushed between the biggest dog the world had ever seen and a hard floor. It wouldn’t do to have his boyfriend smothered to death before they really had a chance to get comfortable in their new relationship. 

One whistle was all it took to grasp the attention of the canines and have them dutifully spilling from Obito and sitting before him. Obito lay gasping on the floor, tilting his head sideways to look at them all. “Is that even a dog? You could ride that thing.”

“You said the same thing when you first met them.” Kakashi patting Bull on the head. “You asked if I owned a horse.”

Nagato seemed to deem it safe to move from around Kakashi at this point. “May as well be. Why do you have so many dogs?”

“I like dogs.” Kakashi answered simply as if that was answer enough. He weaved through his little army to extend a hand to Obito. “I’ll reintroduce you to them.”

Slightly dazed yet also excited, Obito allowed himself to be helped up before moving further into the house. The second he found himself a spot on the couch, the group of animals found their way to him. They sat in such a way that Obito wouldn’t be able to get up again without having to shift one of them away. All except Pakkun who seemed to be over the initial excitement and was now happy to follow Kakashi around while he scavenged the kitchen for drinks. 

Nagato didn’t bother to sit and instead wandered the house to examine things from Kakashi’s childhood. Most of the pictures up on the wall were professionally made: senior pictures from high school, seemingly the first time Kakashi made a snowman, and only one picture of him with his childhood friends. It was Rin, Kakashi, and Obito at a lake together. Both boys were knee deep in the water, soaked and playfully messing with each other while Rin sat beneath an umbrella and was the only one smiling for the picture. 

“Wow,” Nagato said quietly before raising his voice an octave. “I knew you guys said you knew each other from when you were kids, but I hadn’t actually seen evidence before. Look how little you were!” 

He took the image off the wall to bring it to Obito since the other man was unable to stand lest he disturb his many lapdogs. He expected his friend to make a remark on their ages or activities, to pick fun at something. However, what he saw was a confused look. It really only hit home then just how much this sucked for the two of them. They must have been so close and to not remember even a little bit of it was horribly tragic. Nagato couldn’t even imagine the feeling if Obito woke up tomorrow and didn’t remember him. They had been friends since Obito came to Chikyū and in some ways he had known Obito longer than Kakashi. To have all of that forgotten…

Nagato glanced back to Kakashi who was watching them from the kitchen. If the man was hurt by the loss of a childhood friend, he certainly was amazing at hiding it. The two of them had managed to find each other again, but only after they started from scratch. Kakashi had the patience of a saint to deal with all of that and still be there for Obito. 

“Where was this?” Obito asked, handing the picture back to Nagato. 

“Rin’s grandparents owned a large plot of land to raise horses on and it connects to that lake. We had been invited to go fishing there, but as you can see we sort of made up our own plans.” Kakashi returned to them to hand out glasses of water. “Our parents were rather annoyed with us since they had to bring a change of clothes, but it ended up being a really good day.”

From the way Obito’s eyebrows were furrowed, he was trying to recall such an event. Kakashi didn’t seem to mind and reached out to playfully tease one of his dogs. “Anyways,” he changed the subject before Obito could get too dejected about failing to remember something, “I was thinking we could take the dogs for a walk. It’s been a while since they’ve got any decent exercise even though dad tries his best.”

“Which one do I get?” Nagato eyed a few of them as if already imagining walking around with all of them on a leash. 

Kakashi glanced over them before deciding, “Uhei, Guruko, and Akino. They’re the calmest of the group. I’ll take Bisuke, Urushi, and Shiba. Obito, all you really have to do is hold Bull’s leash. Pakkun usually just sits on him anyway.”

“Oh, that I’ve got to see.” Obito chuckled. Seemed like the idea of distracting him with dogs was a success after all. He had even forgotten about wanting to raid the fridge for food. He nudged Bull from where he sat before him to get the dog to move. “Will he stay like that the entire walk?”

“Probably, but I’m not concerned if he jumps off. Pakkun has never run away from me even once and I’ve had him for a long time. He’s sort of the pack leader if you want to think about it that way.”

He retrieved their leashes and attached them to their respective owners. When he went to college, he didn’t get to see his beautiful pets as often as he liked to even though he lived only a few short minutes away. Still that didn’t damper their training what so ever. They still sat patiently until he got to the door and fell into a familiar pattern. If it wasn’t against city regulation, he wouldn’t even bother attaching them at all. Countless times he released them in parks to play fetch and never once did they chase a squirrel or go after another person without coming back at his call. Really, they were the reason he chose his specific career path. 

They were all still so excited to be seeing Obito again and frolicked around him in such a way that almost made Kakashi jealous. They used to do that for him when he visited home during breaks. Now he was completely forgotten as they each sought the attention of the Uchiha. 

The only one that pulled his leash a little was Bull which was the biggest reason Kakashi handed him off. Being so bulky, even he had some issue and keeping Bull within range so they could walk together. With his biggest canine padding after Obito’s hand for some love, he wouldn’t have to worry about being dragged off in whatever route Bull wanted to take. 

Kakashi fell into step with Obito as soon as they made their way outside. Nagato took up the lead, surrounded by dogs both in front of him and behind. “I figured we stop by our old elementary school.” He suggested. It was a good way to shift his attention to something else aside from his uncle ignoring his phone calls. 

Obito instantly became skeptical as he usually did when he thought Kakashi was planning something. “Is this your attempt to help me remember things?”

“If you remember, then that’s great. If not, we’re simply walking by a school.”

The look only deepened. “What if I never remember any of this or anything about you?”

He knew it was Obito’s greatest fear at the moment. The man felt like he needed to recall everything of their shared past in order to have a committed relationship to him. While understandable, it was a bit much. No one could remember every detail of their childhood anyways and, in the long run, it wasn’t too important. 

Reaching out, he grabbed onto Obito’s hand and held it. “I believe I told you before that nothing would change even if that happened. You don’t need to remember every time we hung out at the park to be by my side now.”

“You can’t say it doesn’t bother you.”

“I’m not saying it doesn’t, but it’s not affecting me nearly as much as it is you. And if those medical records that Rin found are correct, then losing them was never your choice. So long as you are happy right now, then that’s all that matters to me.”

Obito made a small noise that was halfway between a laugh and scoff. “You make it sound so easy.”

“And you make it sound so complicated.” Kakashi retorted. 

“Girls, girls, you’re both pretty. Now will someone tell me where we’re going? These three are about to tear my arms off.”

Kakashi and Obito turned to their third wheel to see two of the dogs trying to go one way and the third wanting to go another. Somehow Nagato found himself confused on where the school was and was unwilling to take one side over the other in case he was wrong. 

Smirking, Obito joined his friend and guided him down the correct turn, attracting all the dogs back to him. It was unclear if it was muscle memory from their old walks together kicking in or if Obito wasn’t as directionally challenged as he once was. As someone who was constantly finding ways to work out, Kakashi wouldn’t be surprised if Obito had used the neighborhood as a jogging route. 

With it being the middle of the day and traffic low since kids were in school and adults at work, they decided to take to the streets for their walk. That way they would be able to stay side by side instead of smooshed on the sidewalk. 

One thing that Obito wasn’t grasping about the entire ‘no memory’ situation was that they had it really good right now. A few months ago, Kakashi would have never guessed that his childhood best friend/boyfriend was going to up and walk into his life again. He literally moved right next door as if fate was throwing them back together. After years of no contact, no word, no meetings, and no sign that the other was even alive, just look at them now. Here, walking together, being togethering, and not having to hide it anymore. All their previous barriers were gone, all of the judgmental people could be ignored, and they were surrounded by more friends than they had ever had. With a few downsides here and there, Kakashi felt like this could literally be written down as one of the biggest turn-arounds of his life. 

He was sure that if he put all this in words to Obito, the other would still feel guilty about not remembering him. Despite it not being his fault and there was likely nothing they could ever do about it, there was still that part of Obito that cared too much. Even now as an adult he would let the little things bother him. Only now he was much better at hiding them or, as with the situation with Mizuki, handling them completely wrong. 

But Kakashi was here now and he’d help Obito in any way that he could to get him back on track. To keep him out of trouble and save him from the heartache that the Uchiha family was causing. He’d do so gladly because whether or not Obito was aware, he had seriously helped Kakashi. It took a lot of inward looking to realize, but until the moment that Obito had walked back into his life wholly unexpectedly, Kakashi had isolated himself. Sure he had Rin and Yamato, yet he never really connected to them on the same emotional level he had with Obito. He loved Rin like she was his sister, cared for Yamato like he would a brother, yet Obito dug into his heart more than a tick could. 

“What the hell?”

The shocked outburst stopped the three of them in the middle of the street. They had finally arrived at the school and were prepared to make a lap around the building when something familiar caught their attention. Something that none of them really expected to walk out of the school in a civilized manner. 

“Kisame?” Obito called out. “Are you trying to relearn your alphabet here or something?”

Almost instantly their friend became flustered. 

Kisame.

Embarrassed. 

What?

He quickly turned to the man he had been walking with and said something both quickly and quietly. Predictably, Nagato and Obito were having none of that. 

With their dogs in tow, the two bullies strutted up to their now very uncomfortable friend and surrounded him with all their love. Nagato slipped an arm around Kisame’s neck while Obito tagged his waist. 

“So, when do your classes start?” Nagato asked with a growing smirk. “You test naturally at, what, third grade math?”

Obito enabled that comment with laughter. “This must be his new tutor. You’ve got your work cut out for you, sir. This guy here has the attention span of a horse fly.”

“Ignore them, Iruka.” Kisame’s voice came out something like a growl as he tried to shove his annoying attachments off. “Their parents dropped them on their heads a little too much as children.”

Luckily this Iruka seemed to take it all in good stride. Kakashi almost expected him to retort with some sort of funny comment. That was the type of people Kisame tended to attract to him. Instead Iruka gave a good-natured chuckle. “These must be the friends you spoke so highly of.”

“You talked about us?” Obito asked, looking up at the man steadily turning red and batted his eyes. “You really do care, don’t you?”

Nagato pulled him close so their cheeks were touching. “I knew you liked us. You’re such a big teddy bear, aren’t you? Such a good boy.”

Their victim took one steady breath. “Kakashi.” He said with more calm than he usually possessed which caught the intended audience instantly. “You’ve got two seconds to get them off me.”

For the briefest moment, Kakashi was tempted to let it play out. He would be the first to admit he loved banter between friends – especially when it included Obito. It always got interesting because the conversation could flip from who the biggest idiot was to who wanted pizza and why Konan was a heathen for wanting peppers. 

He made a low whistle that his dogs recognized and they all came running towards him just like they had been taught to. Being connected to the two humans harassing Kisame, they pulled Obito and Nagato away and right off their feet with the amount of force they used to obey the command to heel. The two hit the ground in a jumbled mess that Kakashi awkwardly walked around until he was face to face with Iruka. 

“You look really familiar.” He began, ignoring the noises of complaints beneath him. 

Iruka took a moment took look Kakashi over as if he too thought the same. “We go to the same school, but I don’t believe we’ve had the same classes. Maybe we just happen to be in the same area on campus from time to time?”

His shoulders raised slightly in response. “Probably. Do you teach here?”

“Student teacher.” Iruka confirmed then gestured towards Kisame. “We were setting up the possibility of taking my class on a trip to the sanctuary that Kisame works with.”

No wonder Kisame was quick to get annoyed with them. He had been here on business and his friends were succeeding quickly in making him look badly. “Ah, I see. We were taking my dogs for a walk, so we won’t bother you guys longer than nece-.”

“Oh my god, what happened to your face?” Kisame interrupted, reaching down and pulling Obito to his feet. It was easy to forget that Kisame was a giant of a man who had no issues with carrying people around like nothing. 

With all the eyes now on him, it was Obito’s turn to grow uncomfortable. He squirmed in Kisame’s unbreakable grasp before slapping at it lightly over and over. “Let go. Nothing happened.”

“You got into another fight, didn’t you? Boy, what did I tell you about ticking people off?”

“Actually, he wasn’t the one to start it.” Kakashi tugged Obito back towards him in an effort to get him free. It worked although Kisame was still looking at him with a face that almost said he had wished he had been there. “Let’s just say I’ve learned the full extent of pettiness within Obito’s family.”

Obito passed a glare back toward him that meant he hadn’t intended to let everyone know about the situation. It casually went overlooked, as did most of these looks. Kakashi was getting good about not concerning himself over every little thing when it came to Obito. The comment had worked in their favor though because Kisame was no longer inquiring about it. He sighed with a small shake of his head. “I’d say I’m surprised, but I’m not. Tell me all the details later, okay? Me and Iruka have got a few more things to talk about.”

Kisame tried to visibly steer himself and Iruka away from the group then. In the process, something apparently clicked in Obito’s head and his jaw dropped into the shape of an O. When Nagato moved to continue his teasing, Obito snatched him and whirled him around to group up with Kakashi again. 

“Fine then.” Obito began, making a show of them leaving. “We’ll just go this way. See if we need you.” 

“Obito-.”

The Uchiha’s hand promptly smooshed his friend’s face to muffle the sounds it was making. “Guess we’ll have fun elsewhere. Where there’s signs of intelligent life!”

“The only thing intelligent about you is your boyfriend!” Kisame fired back before flinching and saying something in a hushed voice to Iruka. 

Smirking, Obito snatched Kakashi’s arm on the way and led them around the corner of the school until they were gone from sight. He gave it a good ten seconds before he bolted away from them both and snuck up to the corner to peek around it. As childishly sneaky as it seemed, having him act this way at a school was even more funny to watch. Even more so when he took out his phone and started snapping pictures of Kisame and his newest friend. 

If Kakashi didn’t know any better, he would have thought they were back in elementary school. Back when Obito was so easily excited by all sorts of things that no one else understood. Like the time he found a gecko in the art room and thought it was a chameleon so he spent the entire day trying to get it to change colors before Kakashi broke him the hard news. 

“Want to share with the rest of us?” Nagato demanded from where he stood next to Kakashi with his arms crossed. 

Obito looked down at the pictures he took and grinned widely before answering, “Sasori once mentioned that Kisame was pursuing someone romantically. I think that’s this guy.”

The other two looked around the corner where Kisame was vanishing with Iruka inside his car. Neither one was convinced since Iruka didn’t really seem the kind of guy Kisame would be into. He was proper and well-kept and, well, normal. Kisame was everything the opposite of that and, as Nagato and Obito could confirm, all his interests in the past had all been insane thrill seekers. It was a curse of their friend group to always find the weird ones or find the dumbest way to date someone. 

When neither one shared his enthusiasm, Obito huffed in annoyance and returned to his phone. “Just hang on. I’m going to ask Sasori.”

“Well, while you do that, let’s continue our walk.” Kakashi began leading the group back to where the sidewalk was. “Plus, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m hungry.”

Obito grumbled something about the two of them being killjoys but followed along regardless. It was amusing to see him getting so worked up about his friend when he couldn’t have cared less for Konan’s boyfriend. Kisame must not have dated anyone in a long time, but then again Nagato didn’t seemed concerned at all. 

“Should I be worried with how interested you are in this?” Kakashi teased, pulling his boyfriend out of the way before the dogs caused him to walk right into a pole since he wasn’t paying attention. 

“Not at all.” 

Uh huh. Says the one who was now glued to his phone while he harassed Sasori into telling him something he wanted to hear. It might not even be true. It wasn’t the first time Kisame worked with schools at his job – the first time they had ever met he had been wearing blue nail polish just to entertain the kids. Whatever, let Obito obsess over something that wasn’t as big as he was making it out to be. Kakashi was more interested in whether or not Obito realized that the sidewalk was uneven and could be the next thing his dogs made him trip over. 

He didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Casually dropping hints to the next segment of College Living~


End file.
